State spending,
ethics panels
accused of bias

New coalition says they
failed to properly check
complaints on Cayetano

By Mike Yuen
Star-Bulletin

The recently formed Hawaii Coalition of Small Business Owners today complained that the state ethics and campaign spending panels have failed to properly investigate allegations against Gov. Ben Cayetano.

The complaint, filed with the state Ethics Commission, comes a week before the general election in which Cayetano, a Democrat, faces Republican challenger Linda Lingle, the Maui mayor. Anne Jackson, coalition chairwoman, said her 300-member group was not acting on behalf of the state Republican Party or Lingle, although the coalition's complaint centers on concerns previously raised by Republicans.

Anthony Baldomero, associate director of the Campaign Spending Commission, denied that the panel is pro-Cayetano. Ethics panel Executive Director Dan Mollway said, "It's totally untrue and ridiculous that we're biased."

The business coalition, formed two months ago, pointed to a complaint stemming from the 1994 gubernatorial race that was filed by former U.S. Rep. Patricia Saiki, the Republican who ran against Cayetano. Saiki's complaint, which the spending panel dismissed for lack of evidence, alleged Cayetano failed to report in kind expenses that his party paid on behalf of his campaign.

The coalition also cited a workers' rally in August that led state GOP Chairwoman Donna Alcantara to file a complaint with the ethics panel, calling it a campaign rally. The matter is still under investigation, said Mollway.