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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, February 11, 2003

More fines possible in campaign case

By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer

The state Campaign Spending Commission will vote Thursday on a $49,300 fine against a Honolulu engineering company for making illegal campaign contributions to several Hawai'i politicians, the latest in a long series of such cases in the last year.

The panel also will consider a complaint filed by the state Democratic Party against Republican Gov. Linda Lingle for allegedly using government resources improperly for campaign purposes.

The Democrats say the former Maui mayor erred when she issued a news release on Maui County letterhead that criticized then-Gov. Ben Cayetano during the 1998 gubernatorial campaign. The Maui County Board of Ethics dismissed a version of the complaint in August.

A fine is being considered against ECS Inc. for making illegal donations to Mayor Jeremy Harris, Cayetano, former Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono and former Maui Mayor James "Kimo" Apana in other people's names.

The company has agreed to the penalty to settle the case, but its attorney declined comment until the commission meets.

The illegal donations exceeded $80,000, including nearly $30,000 to Harris and nearly $20,000 to Cayetano, commission executive director Robert Watada said.

The case stems from dozens of contributions that company executives made in the names of family members and employees, allegedly to circumvent a state law that allows maximum individual donations of $4,000 to a candidate for mayor and $6,000 to a candidate for governor.

More than a dozen other companies have been fined in the past year for similar illegal contributions, and the head of one firm recently pleaded no contest to criminal charges for his role in such a scheme.

The Democrats filed the complaint against Lingle last year, long after the questioned news release was issued, and Republicans have characterized the allegation as baseless.

State Democratic Party Chairwoman Lorraine Akiba declined to comment on the case in detail, saying the party hopes the commission will make an "appropriate" decision.

The commission also will vote on two smaller fines for improper donations, and consider three additional complaints.

Oda/McCarthy Architects has agreed to pay $3,000 for making improper donations to Cayetano and Hirono, and MGD Technologies will pay $600 for money wrongly given to Harris.

An additional complaint against Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Local 5 claims the union failed to report nonmonetary contributions to Hirono's gubernatorial campaign, such as telephone solicitations for support, according to Local 5 member Patrick Gallagher.

Union representatives have said such activity was independent of Hirono's campaign and therefore not subject to disclosure, but that the work's value would be reported as an independent expenditure if required.

Another complaint is against Sen. Cal Kawamoto, for allegedly making improper donations to charities from his campaign fund and spending campaign money with companies that have business before the Legislature.

Kawamoto said in a written response that the complaint, filed by Advocates for Consumer Rights president George Fox, is misguided and Fox "does not know an apple from an orange."

The final complaint was filed by Moloka'i publisher George Peabody, who ran for governor as a Libertarian, against four Hawai'i television stations.

Peabody alleges the stations' decision to air debates that excluded long-shot candidates should constitute campaign contributions to those allowed to participate, and their value should be disclosed.

Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.