Harris fund probably can't return donations

By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer

Court battles and disputes over illegal contributions have drained the coffers of Mayor Jeremy Harris' campaign committee, making it unlikely that any money will be returned to the original donors, as promised.

After Harris dropped out of the race for governor last May, campaign officials said money would be returned after all the committee's bills were paid and a process was approved by the state Campaign Spending Commission.

The committee reported that it had more than $1 million in January 2002, but only about $81,000 was left at the start of this year.

That likely will be spent soon for pending cases that challenge alleged illegal donations, said commission director Robert Watada.

"They had to hold on to this money for legal bills, and they know we'll be coming and asking them for it," he said. "I don't know where he's going to get money for any more legal bills."

The campaign reported spending more than $500,000 on lawyers last year, when Harris' campaign sued the commission, defended Harris in another case, and answered subpoenas for an ongoing criminal probe.

Watada said the campaign also forfeited more than $100,000 that the commission determined to be illegal. The campaign committee's attorney declined to comment on the group's finances.

More than a dozen companies have been fined for giving Harris more than the legal limit for donations, and many more are under investigation. The commission will vote tomorrow on a $49,300 fine agreed to by engineering firm ECS Inc. for making illegal donations to Harris and others.

In such cases, the campaign committee that received the money must forfeit to the state Election Campaign Fund the amount ruled to be improper.

Even when the committee has no money left, it can sometimes be held liable for illegal contributions that are discovered, because money raised for a future campaign can be tapped to pay for earlier problems, Watada said.

Another engineering company, SSFM International, gave Harris' campaign about $200,000 in illegal contributions, Watada said, and that case alone could empty the campaign's bank account.

The company's president is awaiting sentencing on a felony money-laundering charge stemming from the case. Watada said an investigation indicates that Harris received as much as $500,000 in illegal donations.

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