Special council session canceled

By NANCY COOK LAUER

Stephens Media

Council Chairman Dominic Yagong and the civil attorneys whose job it is to represent the county continued sparring over representation Tuesday, when Yagong abruptly canceled an executive session scheduled to discuss defending the county against a high-stakes lawsuit.

Yagong had scheduled the special County Council session to decide if outside counsel should be hired to defend the lawsuit filed by two fired elections workers.

Corporation Counsel Lincoln Ashida had told the council in March that he and his entire staff had an unspecified conflict of interest and couldn’t represent the county in what were then noncourt claims against the county. A lawsuit was filed earlier this month on the same issue, leaving Yagong unsure if Corporation Counsel should be involved.

Yagong said he’d scheduled a meeting Monday with Deputy Corporation Counsel Laureen Martin in preparation of the special session, but she canceled an hour before the appointment. Martin declined to elaborate Tuesday.

Yagong said he still didn’t know what the supposed conflict was, and he’s requested opinions from the state Office of Information Practices and the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, which handles attorney ethics issues.

“When we start making decisions, we want to make sure we are on good solid ground,” Yagong told reporters after the meeting.

Yagong, along with South Kona Councilwoman Brenda Ford and Ka‘u Councilwoman Brittany Smart had voted against Ashida’s request to hire special counsel in March. Puna Councilman Fred Blas, and Hilo Councilmen J Yoshimoto, Dennis Onishi and Donald Ikeda had voted in favor of the recommendation. Any request to hire special counsel requires six affirmative votes to pass.

Tuesday, however, Ashida said Corporation Counsel is ready to defend against the lawsuit, at least as far as the county’s liability is concerned.

“We represent the county, and there is no conflict,” Ashida told West Hawaii Today. “We represent the county, and we’ll continue representing the county.”

At issue are defamation lawsuits filed by fired Elections Administrator Pat Nakamoto and Senior Elections Clerk Shyla Ayau, alleging information was leaked about an investigation into drinking parties and a private business operation at the elections warehouse that led to their termination. Also named in the lawsuits filed by Hilo attorney Ted Hong are Hawaii County and Pahoa-based Corporate Specialized Intelligence and Investigations.

Hong, who served as Corporation Counsel for the county in 2000 and was a deputy in the office for seven years before that, said he expects Yagong and County Clerk Jamae Kawauchi will be advised to retain their own attorneys in the event any of their actions were outside the scope of their positions with the county. The two are named in both their official and individual capacities in the lawsuit.

But Yagong is firm that he and the clerk acted within their official capacities.

“We have not overstepped our roles,” Yagong said.

Hong had originally sought $500,000 per employee in the claims cases, but now he says he’ll seek more than that in court.

The county requested and received from Hong an additional 30 days to file an answer to the lawsuit, which was to be due today. Yagong said he expects to take up the issue again at the council’s regular Oct. 3 meeting in Hilo.

Council Vice Chairman Angel Pilago, speaking with reporters outside the canceled meeting, said he had his own concerns about the county’s and Council’s potential liabilities in the lawsuit. But above all, he wanted the Council to remain focused on the big picture.

“If we can now end the personal partisanship, the personal politics between us, that should be our highest priority,” Pilago said. “I think we should all focus toward the integrity of the elections process. … I think everything else is not really important.”

Email Nancy Cook Lauer at ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com.