Posted on: Wednesday, October 8, 2003

ISLAND VOICES
Jones' contract must be sacked

By Beverly Keever

The unparalleled contract between the University of Hawai'i and its football coach, June Jones, end-runs two state laws that are essential for restoring the trust and integrity in government promised by Gov. Linda Lingle.

Fortunately, at least two state agencies are known to be scrutinizing the legality of UH's ill-advised contract scheme that permits $400,008 in state funds to be paid annually to Jones and another $400,008 in salary to be paid by secret private donors. The $400,008 received from private donors is for the rendering of "additional athletically related activities" such as "community service events, promotions" or media events that are essentially incorporated into the coach's official full-time duties, which include "promotion of UH-Manoa's athletic program" and for which he is paid $400,008 by the state.

The end-run around state laws on ethics and public records creates at least three dangerous impacts:

• UH's sanctioning of a principle that permits the privatization of June Jones. The contract carries to a whole new level the concept of privatization of government. Instead of the wholesale turning over of entire government operations like prisons to named private corporations, the UH contract in effect turns over half of a government employee to unidentified private donors.

Such an absurd public-policy principle turns upside down Hawai'i's laws designed to promote ethical employee conduct and open government.

• UH's contract with Jones appears to end-run the "fair treatment" provision in Hawai'i's Code of Ethics, accessible at www.state.hi.us/ethics. That provision prohibits, in part, government employees from using their official positions to secure or grant unwarranted privileges, contracts, advantages or treatment for themselves or others.

UH or others have used Jones' official position to secure $400,008 from secret private donors but it has not accorded such privileged treatment to similarly situated persons like other coaches.

Nor has UH, which is a well-documented male-dominated state agency at its management level, extended to its female employees the same privileged treatment given to Jones.

Most significantly, UH's treatment accorded Jones, as Hawai'i's highest paid employee, is unfair because it fails to extend the same privileges, advantages or contract to its state employees who are among the least paid and thus are in the greatest need of such considerations.

In short, if Hawai'i's highest paid government employee is permitted to accept monies or other considerations from private donors essentially for performance of his official duties, why should not Hawai'i's most lowly paid employees be granted the same privileged treatment?

• The secrecy surrounding it. Because of the secrecy of the identities of the private donors, the amounts of their donations and the terms under which the donations are made, citizens and even the State Ethics Commission are unable to determine whether conflicts of interests or other problems arise in the performance of official duties of the individual or in the accountability of UH. June Jones is not required to file financial disclosure statements with the Ethics Commission.

In addition, should these private donations fail to be made as promised before the contract expires in five years, the state's liability in covering any shortfall needs to be disclosed now to forewarn Hawai'i's taxpayers, policymakers and legislators, who are already facing near-empty coffers.

The State Ethics Commission should investigate this contract scheme that portends such dangerous impacts, declare it void for violating Hawai'i's Code of Ethics and recommend UH develop a legal game plan.

Beverly Keever is a professor of journalism at the University of Hawai'i. She is voicing her own perspective.