Troubled agency director to retire
By Jim Dooley
Advertiser Staff Writer
Beleaguered state public housing director Sharyn Miyashiro, under fire from federal officials and under investigation by the Attorney General's office, will retire at the end of the year, she has told colleagues.
Advertiser library photo
In an Oct. 8 letter to "fellow employees," Miyashiro said, "I will be retiring after 35 years of state service. My last day of work will be December 30, 2002."
Sharyn Miyashiro did not mention HCDCH controversies when she announced her retirement.
Miyashiro, executive director of the Housing and Community Development Corp. of Hawaii (HCDCH), made no mention of controversies that have rocked the agency in recent months.
"I have had a long, diverse, challenging and rewarding career in housing," she said. "But most satisfying and special has been working with you all."
Miyashiro is a career public housing official, rising first to executive assistant of HCDCH, and then to the top post in 2000.
The agency has been the subject of increasing federal scrutiny and criticism this year. In a May letter, Michael Liu, assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, cited widespread management problems at the agency and ordered it to spend as much as $2 million to hire a consultant to identify and fix organizational and financial accountability problems.
Liu later accused Miyashiro of violating conflict-of-interest regulations in awarding a consulting contract, and ordered tight restrictions on how HCDCH awards federally funded contracts.
On Monday, Gov. Ben Cayetano ordered the Attorney General's office to investigate allegations of wrongdoing at HCDCH, saying he suspected any problems might be attributable to negligence rather than willful wrongdoing.
