Posted on: Sunday, November 14, 2004

Leader of campaign-donor probes to retire

Associated Press

Bob Watada, the executive director of the state Campaign Spending Commission whose investigations into campaign finance abuses led to criminal convictions of three Hawai'i lawmakers, said he plans to retire after the 2005 legislative session.

Watada, 65, said Friday he already has discussed his pending retirement with the commission's five-member board, which will be charged with finding his replacement.

"We have big shoes to fill," said Commissioner Steven Olbrich.

Watada said he will remain on the job until a successor is hired and that he is willing to volunteer his time during the transition.

An economist by training, Watada previously worked for 19 years as an administrator in the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

He was appointed by the commission in February 1995 after his predecessor, Jack Gonzales, was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role in bilking $10 million from a local labor organization.

Watada's early investigation into campaign expenditures by then-City Councilwoman Rene Mansho led to her criminal convictions for theft. During the late-1990s, investigations into the finances of former state Sens. Milton Holt and Marshall Ige also led to criminal convictions.

Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris, who leaves office this year because of term limits, also has been dogged by Watada's investigations.

A three-year probe into allegations of city contractors receiving contracts in exchange for large donations to Harris' campaigns has led to more than $700,000 in fines and resulted in dozens of donors being charged with criminal violations of state campaign finance law.

Harris has denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged.

The investigation took its toll on Harris in 2002, when he was seen as the front-runner for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. Harris dropped out of the race on May 30, saying internal polls indicated he couldn't win the election and that his faltering popularity was due to "a year of bad publicity."