Watada says fear reinforces silence
By Johnny Brannon and Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Staff Writers
Numerous architects, engineers and contractors have complained privately about the pervasive system of demanding political contributions from government contractors that a grand jury witness described Thursday, according to state Campaign Spending Commission director Robert Watada.
But those who know most about the system won't talk about it publicly because they either benefit greatly from it or fear they will be frozen out of future opportunities or face more serious retaliation if they make trouble, Watada said.
"We've heard it over and over and over: If you don't give, you don't get," Watada said. "It's a way of controlling who gets jobs, and not only government jobs. It's a system where 'If you don't help me out, I'm going to talk to other people to make sure you don't get jobs.'"
Architect John Tatom, who was subpoenaed to appear before an investigative grand jury looking into Mayor Jeremy Harris' political campaigns and city contracting, told reporters Thursday that he had heard the same for decades from people in the building industry.
"Most architects and people in the business are very afraid of being punished or harassed if they come forward and try to unravel this system," Tatom said yesterday. "They're very afraid."
He said that while he had not been subjected to direct pressure to contribute to politicians, he has refrained from working on government projects.
He said prosecutors previously questioned him about planning work on several city projects that he had done for free.
"In the course of their investigation, my name kept coming up, they told me, in the context of work that had been done on the Waipi'o Soccer Complex and Central O'ahu Regional Park and perhaps some other projects," Tatom said.
"They were trying to figure out what the connection was and whether I'd violated any laws doing this public service work.
"I think they dropped that pretty quickly."
City Council budget chairwoman Ann Kobayashi questioned whether any such planning work should be considered a gift to the city that needs to be publicly disclosed and presented to the council for acceptance. Tatom said the work he performed was worth at least $100,000.
"That's a big gift," Kobayashi said. "I really wonder about that. You give a batting cage to a park, and it has to be accepted by the city as a gift."
Tatom said he had done early design work on the soccer complex, park and a Kuhio Beach promenade because the Harris administration asked him and he thought they were worthy projects. He said he supports Harris but had not contributed money to his campaigns.
Prosecutors have questioned witnesses about all three projects. Employees of at least one company that worked on the beach and park projects, SSFM International Inc., were subpoenaed to testify before the investigative grand jury.
The company has been awarded city contracts worth at least $7,039,000 during Harris' tenure, city records show.
And company employees and their relatives contributed more than $80,000 to Harris' political campaigns since 1996.
Tatom said that he was subpoenaed to testify before the investigative jury and provide plans he had prepared for the soccer project, but that prosecutors did not asked him to testify when he appeared on Thursday. He said he did not know whether he would be asked to testify later.
Harris declined to comment on whether the Tatom's work should have been disclosed as a gift. But administration spokeswoman Carol Costa said it is not uncommon for professionals to donate their time and expertise on community projects.
People with expertise in many fields — from bicycle route experts and planners to archers and engineers — volunteer time and talent, Costa said.
Rather than being a gift to the city with specific monetary value, such participation allows broad involvement in shaping public projects.
"That's what community-based planning is all about," Costa said.
One of the Harris Cabinet members who testified Thursday, Department of Design and Construction director Rae Loui, said she has never been asked by anyone in Harris' administration to consider political donations when selecting nonbid consultants.
Costa said that when Harris took office, "he insisted that the system be changed to ensure that firms are selected based solely on merit and not on political considerations."
Watada said the contributions-for-contracts system that Tatom and others have described is not necessarily controlled directly by people who run for or hold public office.
But he said the system is no secret to them.
"Any candidate who says they don't know, they're not being honest," Watada said. "The political spin on this has to be that the system doesn't exist, that we don't operate this way. But who are you kidding? We've talked to so may business people and executives who know."
The grand jury is expected to convene next month to hear additional testimony.
Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.
