Posted on: Friday, January 7, 2005
Mayor defends appointees
By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer
Mayor Mufi Hannemann said that while newly appointed city managing director John Reed should have told him about a lawsuit alleging Reed made offensive racial remarks, he believed the charges were baseless and Reed should stay on the job.
Photos by Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser Hannemann said there would be zero tolerance at City Hall for racial discrimination. He said he has known Reed for years and did not believe he was prejudiced.
"I have never heard anyone say that they feel or believe that Mr. Reed is in the least bit racist in any shape or form," Hannemann said. "Here's a man who's married to a Japanese-American woman. Here's a man who has a lot of local friends in our community of all ethnic backgrounds. So I believe Mr. Reed when he says those statements were never made."
Reed flatly denied the suit's allegations, and said the main plaintiff launched the suit after her job was eliminated. He said that the case was settled for less than 15 percent of the damages sought, but that the settlement required the exact amount to remain confidential.
The suit was filed in California in 2003 by three employees of BriteSmile Inc., when Reed was CEO. The plaintiffs' attorney could not be reached for comment yesterday or Wednesday.
Hannemann said that he had personally recruited Reed and that Reed had not undergone the same type of screening as others who applied for jobs in his administration. Nevertheless, Reed should have disclosed the potential for controversy, he said.
Kubota coordinated volunteers with Hannemann's campaign committee and was Unity House's executive director in 1999 and 2000. The $42 million labor 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 said he had been subpoenaed with many others to testify before a federal grand jury in the investigation last summer, but was told he is not targeted for prosecution.
Hannemann had not publicly announced Kubota's appointment and repeatedly declined to discuss Kubota when asked about him during a news conference Tuesday.
Hannemann said yesterday that he had not wanted to divert attention from the other announcements he made, but that there had been nothing to hide. He pledged to run an open and accountable administration and to answer questions from news reporters truthfully. But he cautioned that needless controversy could harm his administration and the city.
"I'm having a difficult time as it is recruiting people to come in," he said "These kinds of stories, if they are baseless, do nothing to further enhance the confidence of people who are wanting to come into government."
Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.
Hannemann said he also remained confident that new deputy budget director Patrick Kubota had fully cooperated with a federal investigation of the Unity House labor organization, which Kubota once ran, and that he was not a target of the ongoing probe.
Mayor Mufi Hannemann said yesterday that he believed John Reed, whom he appointed Honolulu's managing director, when Reed denied claims he made offensive racial remarks.
Reed said he had not told Hannemann about the suit before Hannemann appointed him on Tuesday because the allegations were untrue and he considered the case "an immaterial issue."
Patrick Kubota
