Posted on: Thursday, November 14, 2002

Pollster testifies at Harris grand jury

By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Capitol Bureau

A Honolulu police officer and a veteran political pollster appeared today before an O'ahu grand jury investigating Mayor Jeremy Harris' campaign finances and the awarding of city contracts.

Officer Ernest Chang, who appeared first, is an associate of Lisa-Katharine Otsuka, who has refused to testify before the grand jury while she seeks immunity from prosecution. Chang declined to comment.

Pollster Don Clegg, who appeared next, said prosecutors asked him about polls he conducted for Harris' 1996 and 2000 election campaigns.

Prosecutors wanted to know why Clegg was polling for Harris while another pollster, Harry Mattson, was performing the same type of work, Clegg said.

"My answers were that candidates are very skittish people and they like to get a second opinion, and other than that I don't know why they did two polls," he said.

Two key Harris campaign officials have also been subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury.

Attorney Peter Char, the campaign's top fund raiser, was expected to appear before the secret panel this afternoon.

Campaign co-chair Rick Tsujimura is out of town but is expected to appear before the grand jury when he returns.

Police who raided Otsuka's Waikiki hotel room in August found a box of ammunition that allegedly belonged to Chang.

Otsuka was arrested that day on suspicion of money laundering, promoting prostitution, and illegally operating a business.

Otsuka is also an associate of Mattson, and prosecutors have questioned whether she improperly received money from the Harris campaign through Mattson's consulting firms.

Otsuka was indicted this week on theft and forgery charges for allegedly bilking an auto repair business out of $12,000 when she worked there as a bookkeeper in 1999.

She is also awaiting trial for allegedly stealing $3,000 from a dance group last year. Her attorney has complained that prosecutors are dredging up old cases to pressure her to testify before the Harris grand jury.

Harris and Otsuka say they don't know each other, and Harris has insisted there is no connection between campaign contributions and the awarding of city contracts.