Apana returns improper cash

By Christie Wilson
Advertiser Neighbor Island Editor

KAHULUI, Maui — Mayor James "Kimo" Apana's re-election campaign has returned $14,400 in improper contributions as ordered by the state Campaign Spending Commission, which continues to investigate other contributions from business interests.

Maui Mayor James "Kimo" Apana said party leaderes told him not to get involved in campaign finances.

Campaign Spending Commission chairman Robert Watada said yesterday that Apana contributions from a number of other companies are being investigated. The companies include R.M. Towill Corp., ParEn Inc./Park Engineering, SSFM International Inc., ControlPoint Surveying Inc. and Wesley Segawa & Associates of Hilo.

The commission also is investigating contributions those same firms made to Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris and other candidates.

Apana yesterday said he doesn't keep track of who donates money to his campaign. He said he was told by Democratic Party leaders early in his political career not to get involved in campaign finances.

But in light of recent investigations into some of the donations to his campaign, Apana said he would take "a more active role in scrutinizing the funds that we receive."

"There are some funds we should not accept," he said.

Apana's campaign has raised $720,000 since the last election. By comparison, his chief rival, Maui County Council member Alan Arakawa, has raised approximately $46,500.

Campaign spending laws limit contributions to $4,000 per donor and require that contributions submitted by officials from the same company count as a single donation.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Apana called Watada's efforts to police campaign contributions "a service to all candidates."

"A candidate has no way of knowing when a donor has engaged in a practice contrary to the spirit and intent of the rules governing campaign fund-raising," the mayor said. "A candidate has no way of knowing who is related to whom and who works for which company."

That is not entirely true. Under state campaign spending laws, anyone who donates more than $1,000 is required to provide the name of their employer and their position with the company.

Although Watada agreed it is sometimes difficult to determine whether a contributor is a company official, "I think the campaign has a responsibility to take a look at who's giving them money," he said.

In some cases, it's easy to spot potential problems with contributions from the reports submitted by the campaign committees themselves.

For example, Watada said, Apana's campaign received a total of $16,000 in contributions from Alden Kajioka of ControlPoint Surveying and three family members with the same last name. Donations of $4,000 each were received July 29, 2001, from Kajioka, his wife, Wanda, who is the company's office manager, and their daughter, Sheri Ann. On June 20, 2001, the Kajiokas' son, Coren, a university student, submitted four donations that totaled $4,000.

Watada said that Alden Kajioka and his wife should have been limited to a single $4,000 donation, instead of giving $4,000 each.

In addition, Kajioka's son did not list his employer or occupation, even though the spending report shows two of his contributions were for $1,000 or more.

"Minimally, the campaign should have asked for his occupation and employer," Watada said.

The company has indicated it wants to enter into conciliation over the questionable contributions and avoid possible criminal prosecution, he said.

Wesley Segawa & Associates also is seeking a settlement, Watada said, after investigators found evidence the engineering consultant exceeded legal limits on campaign donations by routing contributions through associates and family members. At least $25,000 in questionable donations to Apana, Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris and Gov. Ben Cayetano have been identified.

A campaign spending report filed by Apana's campaign shows four contributions totaling $10,000 that were received July 5, 2001, from company president Segawa, office manager Phyllis Segawa, company secretary Sandra Watanabe, and Jerry Watanabe of Hilo.

Watada said he was not at liberty to provide information on pending investigations involving Apana contributions from R.M. Towill Corp., ParEn Inc./Park Engineering and SSFM International Inc.

Gary Yoshimura, Apana's campaign treasurer, said the re-election committee was informed of the need to return the $14,400 in an Aug. 26 letter from Watada. The mayor's campaign returned $1,400 from Sato and Associates, $11,000 from Geolabs and the $2,000 from Thermal Engineering Corp.

All three firms were fined earlier this year by the Campaign Spending Commission. Thermal Engineering agreed to pay a $31,000 fine for making excess contributions, Sato & Associates was fined $1,000. Geolabs agreed to pay a $64,000 fine for making more than $127,000 in illegal donations to Apana and other candidates.