Despite a long wait to bolster the membership of the county Board of Ethics, the County Council on Friday postponed action on two nominees who would fill the five-member panel.
The council voted 7-1 to postpone, with Puna Councilman Daniel Paleka voting no and Council Chairman Dru Kanuha, of Kona, recusing himself because there’s a complaint against him pending before the board.
The Ethics Board, which is supposed to meet monthly, has met only twice in the past eight months because it’s had a hard time getting its current three members together to form the required quorum for a vote.
Hilo Councilmen Dennis “Fresh” Onishi and Aaron Chung questioned the involvement of Ethics Board Chairwoman Ku Kahakalau in recruiting and endorsing the new nominees. Their questions — most of which were held in closed session with Corporation Counsel attorneys — were enough to force a postponement of the vote until Feb. 3.
If approved then, that will still give the county time to seat the new members at the next scheduled Board of Ethics meeting Feb. 10, said Deputy Corporation Counsel J Yoshimoto, who represents the Ethics Board.
Council members quizzed nominee Josephine Ibarra on whether she could vote independently, even if she had been recruited and supported by an Ethics Board member.
“I’m coming in as an individual; I’m coming in to listen; I’m coming in to voice my opinion,” Ibarra said.
Ibarra, of North Kona, is the care coordinator/resident manager of HI Affordable Properties and volunteers at St. Michael the Archangel Church in Kailua-Kona. She also volunteers with organizations that help the homeless in the Kona community, according to information provided the council.
South Kona/Ka‘u Councilwoman Maile David said she knows Ibarra from Ibarra’s community work.
“I applaud you because I know you’re an independent thinker and you will be fair. I totally support your nomination,” David told Ibarra.
The other nominee, G. Rick Robinson, of Kona, was not at the meeting. Robinson just completed a five-year term on the county Water Board.
He also served two terms on the Civil Service Commission, now the Merit Appeals Board. He is a member of the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival and Council, the Kona Soil and Water Conservation District and the Kona Farm Bureau.
The two West Hawaii members address concerns by the council and some members of the public that the Ethics Board had no West Hawaii representation.
In related action, the council again postponed a bill putting a charter amendment on the ballot changing the appointment process, number and length of term for Ethics Board members.
The measure would give the council more appointing authority that’s typically held by the mayor.
“It’s not just a matter of quorum, but it’s a matter of diversity and independence,” said Kohala Councilwoman Margaret Wille, sponsor of Bill 101 that would add the amendment to the November general election ballot and take effect Dec. 5.
Paleka, however, pushed for the matter to be set to rest indefinitely. He said the earlier nomination vote postponement showed that the council has power to decide board membership.
“Today was an example,” Paleka said. “We had the opportunity to name two individuals and we didn’t. … We all have a job to do, us and the mayor.”
The board handles ethics complaints from residents about public officials. It also provides advisory letters to public officials about ethics issues, such as whether they can take on outside jobs. And, it reviews annual gift disclosures and financial disclosures of a host of officials and county employees in certain positions.
