Deputy budget chief once ran Unity House

By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer

Mayor Mufi Hannemann has quietly picked a key campaign worker who formerly ran the embattled Unity House labor organization to be the city's deputy budget director.

Hannemann did not announce his choice of Patrick Kubota for the post when he unveiled other Cabinet appointments yesterday, but he confirmed the selection when asked about it.

He declined to answer any questions about Kubota, and would not say when he would make a formal announcement.

"We'll make it when we make it," Hannemann said.

Kubota declined to comment on his appointment as deputy director of the Department of Budget and Fiscal Services.

He was recently called to testify before a federal grand jury as part of an investigation into Unity House's financial dealings. The $42 million organization and its assets were seized by the Internal Revenue Service last month, and its deposed president, Tony Rutledge Sr., is scheduled to stand trial in May on fraud and tax evasion charges. He has denied wrongdoing.

Kubota was executive director of Unity House in 1999 and 2000, and had worked on Hannemann's staff when Hannemann served on the City Council.

Kubota has not been charged in the Unity House case, and an attorney who represented him in relation to the grand jury proceedings said yesterday that prosecutors have assured him Kubota is not a target of the investigation.

Kubota worked as a "grass-roots coordinator" for Hannemann's campaign committee and said in a recent interview that he organized volunteers from Unity House for sign-waving events and other activities.

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