EDITORIAL
Liquor commission needs serious overhaul

It's long past time for a real change at the Honolulu Liquor Commission, and the ones in charge now don't seem to be moving very quickly to accomplish it.

Last week, three former commission inspectors were sentenced to prison in a bribery case. In handing down the sentence, Chief U.S. District Judge David Ezra correctly cited the need for fundamental changes and urged city and state lawmakers to investigate.

Much of that investigative work is already in hand, however, and wheels are already turning to bring about reform. The city auditor's recent report has identified that "inadequate management and oversight" hurts the agency's ability to effectively regulate O'ahu's 1,500 bars, clubs, restaurants, stores and other outlets that sell liquor.

A City Council committee, taking the cue, has approved the concept of an evaluation of the commission's senior managers. The panel also is considering taking legal steps to remove these positions from the civil service system.

This idea has merit. It's hard to think of officials less deserving of a civil service shield and more in need of oversight than the leaders of the liquor commission, including administrator Wallace Weatherwax and chief investigator John Carroll.

Councilman Charles Djou already has called for their resignation, something neither is willing to tender, saying that they want to cooperate in the efforts to improve the operation.

That's heartening. But thus far, those efforts comprise a draft of a strategic plan that includes few prospects for reform anytime soon.

For example, the functions of an "internal affairs" division would be handled by the deputy administrator initially, with the office "eventually established as an independent function."

Where's the urgency, the resolve for timely change, in that statement?

Many problems at the commission have emerged on Weatherwax's and Carroll's watch, so commissioners should be empowered to remove them — or any future top administrator for that matter — without the civil service impediments.

Dennis Enomoto, liquor commission chairman, says he believes the commission will change the way it operates, but not everyone subscribes to that belief.

The tinkering has got to stop.

The faltering engine of the liquor commission needs a complete overhaul, and only major structural changes in how the agency is governed will allow that to happen.