A 4-4 County Council deadlock Thursday killed an ethics bill that Mayor Billy Kenoi has pushed since taking office in 2008.
The bill, killed by a previous County Council and spurned twice by the Board of Ethics, went through five committee hearings before being dealt the final blow.
Bill 181 would have prevented county employees or companies where they or their spouses or children have a controlling interest from getting county contracts. It also prohibits elected or appointed officers or employees from representing private interests before county agencies, such as lobbying for a company.
Will the third County Council be the charm? Kenoi apparently hasn’t given up.
“We’re extremely disappointed,” Kenoi said after the vote. “Hopefully, the next council will see fit to consider it and pass it.”
Council members supporting the measure — Hamakua Councilwoman Valerie Poindexter, Kona Councilman Dru Kanuha, North Kona Councilwoman Karen Eoff and Kohala Councilwoman Margaret Wille — said there is a perception that county employees get preferential treatment when it comes to county purchases and contracts.
“This bill will help the county’s credibility. This is a start for gaining our public trust. They want this. They want an ethics bill. It may not be perfect, but it’s a start,” Poindexter said.
“I honor that this administration is seeking to prevent conflicts of interest,” Wille said. “It’s not like the county is above and beyond any allegations of abuses in the past. … I don’t think Mayor Kenoi would be doing this if he didn’t have a rationale.”
Whether or not the perception is based on facts isn’t as relevant as doing what they can to help people trust their government, supporters said.
Dissenters — South Kona/Ka‘u Councilwoman Brenda Ford, Hilo Councilman Dennis “Fresh” Onishi and Puna Councilmen Greggor Ilagan and Zendo Kern — said the mayor hasn’t shown a need for the bill.
“I totally understand the public perception that something not good is going on when county employees get county contracts,” Ford said. “There’s not one shred of evidence from the administration that there’s nefarious deeds going on.”
Ford, who had voted for the measure in 2010, called a provision banning officials from representing private interests before county boards, “dangerous.”
On a remote island, tightening the ethics code could shut out local contractors in favor of off-island ones, raising the cost of goods and services, council opponents said.
Council Chairman J Yoshimoto had urged for a postponement to work on the bill before putting it to a vote. Yoshimoto wasn’t present when the final vote was taken, but he had voted against it in the Finance Committee.
Over the course of the five committee hearings, there was talk of amending the bill, but no council member sponsored an amendment.
“If they found things that were objectionable, they could have made amendments and still sent a message,” Kenoi said.
One of the most insistent opponents to the measure was Hilo attorney Brian De Lima, who represents a county employee who previously had a controlling interest in a company that has held a lucrative annual contract with the county since 1996. At its peak, in 2008, Kamaaina Pumping invoiced the county $1.26 million, according to records obtained from the county Department of Finance
The employee, Randy Riley, division chief for the Automotive Division in the Department of Public Works, is still represented by De Lima, who continues to lobby against the bill although he says it doesn’t affect his client.
De Lima said projects go through the competitive bidding process, and the Ethics Board has an opportunity to give employees clearance if they have questions.
Kenoi has proposed four changes, some of them modeled after the City and County of Honolulu’s code. The changes, aimed at stopping the most blatant appearances of conflicts of interest, forbid employees from contracting with county government or lobbying boards and commissions on behalf of private businesses.
The most significant proposal is a ban on companies holding contracts with county government where county employees, their spouses or dependent children have a controlling interest.
“To prohibit county employees from ever contracting with the county of Hawaii by competitive bid or a contract for which they have not participated nor is directly concerned is unnecessary and discriminatory,” De Lima said in a letter Wednesday to the County Council.
Email Nancy Cook Lauer at ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com.
