ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com
BY NANCY COOK LAUER | WEST HAWAII TODAY
HILO — Mayor Billy Kenoi’s principal political opponent is sponsoring a bill limiting a mayor’s ability to use county equipment and personnel to distribute newsletters six months before a mayoral election.
County Council Chairman Dominic Yagong said he sponsored Bill 183 because council employees returning from a recent ethics workshop questioned a county ordinance that forbids council members from distributing “newsletters, brochures, legislative summaries or other mass mailings” at public expense after a candidate pulls nomination papers or six months before a council election.
He said the employees asked why the mayor and county prosecutor weren’t included in that prohibition. Yagong said the council had passed the prohibition against its own members in 2008, when there was no incumbent mayor seeking re-election, and the longtime prosecutor ran unopposed.
“We wanted to change the law so that it is applied evenly across all county offices,” Yagong said.
When asked if he would have sponsored the legislation if he were not challenging Kenoi for mayor, Yagong replied he would have. He explained the timing of the bill by saying he wasn’t aware of the loophole in the current ordinance until informed by employees.
Kenoi said Monday he’ll abide by the council’s wishes.
“If Mr. Yagong feels it’s an unfair advantage for us to be open and transparent with the community, then we’re not going to make an issue of that,” Kenoi said. “The newsletter is just one of many ways we communicate with the community,” he said, adding he and department heads have held more than 40 community meetings all over the island to keep residents informed and get feedback.
Bill 183 adds the mayor and county prosecutor to the prohibition. It exempts candidates who use public funds as part of the state’s pilot project in Hawaii County giving public funds to council candidates who meet certain requirements. Penalties include administrative fines up to $1,000 per violation.
The bill is expected to affect only Kenoi, because there is no incumbent prosecutor this election year.
Kenoi’s office has regularly produced and distributed newsletters. The eight-page, full-color publications were first labeled, “Let’s Get it Done Together,” but have since been renamed “Holomua,” a Hawaiian word meaning “progress,” or “moving forward.”
The monthly publication details programs and accomplishments, quoting Kenoi in almost every article. And there are numerous photos of Kenoi, in a suit and tie shaking hands with President Obama and federal officials, in a black leather jacket leading a Toys for Tots motorcycle convoy, in aloha shirt and lei at road dedications.
Kenoi said 1,000 copies are generally produced monthly, although sometimes the newsletter goes into a second printing. At 20 cents each, the monthly cost is about $200, as the county uses its own machine room and the publications are distributed through interoffice pouch and by hand to county facilities, he said.
The council unanimously passed Bill 183 on first reading Feb. 15 and is expected to pass it on its second and final reading March 9.
While the bill adopts the state definition of “electioneering communication,” which also includes radio and television broadcasts, Yagong said that is not as much a parity issue, because stations are required by law to give equal time.
Kenoi in October 2010 had started a 30-minute program, “This week with Mayor Billy Kenoi,” on Na Leo O Hawaii TV channel 53, but a spokeswoman at the public access television station said Monday the show hasn’t run in about a year. The Mayor’s Office had bought $5,594 worth of video production equipment and hired a videographer on a $15,000 89-day contract before beginning the show.
Yagong characterizes the promotional efforts as a waste of taxpayers’ money.
“There are many ways to communicate with constituents without so many bells and whistles,” Yagong said. “If it’s worthy news, the newspapers will put it out there for free.”
ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com