Architectural firm target of prosecutor's inquiry
Advertiser Staff
The city prosecutor's office is investigating a series of campaign contributions to Mayor Jeremy Harris' political campaign linked to an architectural firm that has received some $3.2 million in consulting contracts, said Robert Watada, executive director of the state Campaign Spending Commission.
Watada said the spending commission had been investigating six $4,000 contributions made to the Harris campaign on the final day of 1997 by donors now linked to Stringer Tusher Architects. The firm was awarded a $537,500 city consultant contract 30 days later to design the Waipi'o Recreation Complex, according to city records.
The company acknowledged involvement in the contributions and was talking to the commission about paying a fine for exceeding legal limits on campaign donations, but then asked to suspend talks because of a criminal investigation by the city prosecutor's office, Watada said.
"We have come to an agreement as to payment of a fine, but they asked us to put it on hold until there's a resolution of the criminal investigation," he said.
Watada's office has referred evidence of possible criminal violations of the state campaign spending law against other companies to the prosecutor's office, but Watada said it made no referral in the Stringer Tusher matter.
Interest by the prosecutor's office in the $24,000 worth of donations — made in the names of others — was developed independently, Watada said.
Prosecutors have subpoenaed city officials and others to testify before an investigative grand jury convening Sept. 5. But David Stringer, architects principal of the Stringer Tusher firm, said yesterday he has not been subpoenaed.
He declined to say whether he had been interviewed by prosecutors.
Officials of the prosecutor's office could not be reached for comment yesterday.
The contributions, which the Harris campaign reported receiving December 31, 1997, were $4,000 each from: Peacock Properties Inc., of San Francisco; John Stricklin, Stringer's former son-in-law, of Mill Valley, Calif.; Todd Leventhal, salesman for Miller Brewing co., San Francisco; Gil and Vicki Gilfix, retirees who live in Mountain View, Calif.; Casper Mol, architect, San Francisco; and Wedge Holdings Inc. of San Francisco.
The $537,500 consultant contract awarded in January 1998 to Stringer Tusher to design the Waipi'o Recreation Complex has been amended at least three times since then and is valued at $2.3 million.
The company was awarded another city consulting job March 2, 1998, initially valued at $250,000, to design the new Kapi'olani Park bandstand. It has been amended at least once since then.
All told, the Harris administration has awarded Stringer Tusher more than $3.2 million in nonbid design contracts since 1998.
Besides the Kapi'olani Park bandstand and the Waipi'o complex, the company has also designed the Waialua bandstand and a fountain at 'A'ala Park, city records show.
The investigative grand jury meeting next month has issued subpoenas for Rae Loui, director of the Department of Design and Construction; Randall Fujuki, director of the Department of Planning and Permitting and former head of Design and Construction; former budget director Carroll Takahashi, who resigned from that post last month; and former finance director Roy Amemiya.
An attorney for Harris has said repeatedly that the mayor has done nothing wrong and would never tolerate corruption in city contracting or use taxpayer money to reward campaign contributions.
