The Honolulu Ethics Commission has ruled that members of the administration of former Mayor Jeremy Harris did not violate ethics laws in publishing a glossy 220-page book showcasing his accomplishments.

Commission Executive Director Charles Totto said this week that Harris had the legal authority to publish "The Renaissance of Honolulu" using $108,763 in tax dollars while he was mayor. Totto said the commission also found "no evidence that anyone received special treatment or an unwarranted advantage as a result of publication of the book."

However, Totto said, the opinion should not be seen as an endorsement of the book.

"It is not for the commission to decide whether publishing the book was a wise or imprudent use of public funds," he said. "Instead, the commission may only determine if there was a misuse of public funds under the ethics laws."

The administration of Harris' successor, Mayor Mufi Hannemann, has complained about being left with 3,500 copies of the book. Managing Director Jeff Coelho said the city has yet to receive any money from sales of the book, which started off briskly in December but have dropped off since.

Since May, Coelho said, fewer than 40 books sold. Coelho said he thinks the project showed poor judgment.

"We really don't have the money to be throwing away on a project like that," he said.

City Councilman Charles Djou said he wasn't surprised by the commission's opinion, since it was similar to a legal opinion offered by the city's civil attorneys in the corporation counsel's office.

But he said the opinions don't make the book a good idea. "It doesn't change the fact that it was a waste of taxpayer money and a lousy fiscal decision," he said.

Harris administration officials said the book was produced as a way to mark Honolulu's 100th anniversary, as a gift for visiting dignitaries and officials as well as a historic record of the city's accomplishments in recent years.