Mayor rebuffs call from councilman for official's removal
By Treena Shapiro
Advertiser Staff Writer
City Councilman Charles Djou is calling on the mayor to remove Cabinet member Mike Amii, who pleaded no contest last week to misuse of city resources.
Advertiser library photos
In a letter to Mayor Jeremy Harris dated yesterday, Djou said Amii's criminal sanction for having his secretary do work for the Harris re-election campaign on city time "only further enhances the city's image as a corrupt institution."
City Councilman Charles Djou, top, suggested Cabinet member Mike Amii should be reassigned.
He suggested that to restore the public's trust, Amii should be removed from the Cabinet and perhaps reassigned to a non-supervisory position.
"Unlike a traffic violation or other petty crime, Mr. Amii's misconduct involved misuse of taxpayer resources, and thus directly relates to the integrity of city government," Djou wrote.
Harris responded that Djou's demand was "clearly a partisan effort to promote himself at someone else's expense."
In a statement issued yesterday afternoon, Harris commented, "As I said last week, Mike Amii's actions were against my city policy, and I don't condone them. He made a mistake, but it's not a hanging offense."
Amii, director of the Department of Community Resources, was charged with misdemeanor theft for having his secretary file campaign spending reports in what amounted to about 10 hours of work between 1997 and 2001.
If Amii stays out of trouble for the next year, his criminal conviction will be dismissed. He must also pay $195 to the city, a $250 fine and $50 to the state's Criminal Victim Compensation Fund.
