2 firms fined for A local architecture firm and an engineering company have agreed to pay fines for making excessive campaign contributions to isle politicians.
political contributions
They are among 60 firms being
probed for donation irregularitiesBy Rick Daysog
rdaysog@starbulletin.comA third firm is in negotiations with the state Campaign Spending Commission to settle charges that they made illegal political donations.
Bob Watada, executive director of the state Campaign Spending Commission, said the engineering firm of Sato & Associates Inc. agreed to pay $1,000 to settle allegations that it made $2,000 in over-the-limit contributions to Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris' 2000 campaign.
The firm also gave $1,400 more than the legal limit to Maui Mayor James "Kimo" Apana's 2000 campaign, Watada said.
Meanwhile, the landscape architecture firm of Brownlie & Lie and its affiliated companies agreed to pay $450 for making $1,500 in excessive contributions to Gov. Ben Cayetano's 1998 re-election campaign and $1,000 in over-the-limit donations to Harris' 2000 campaign.
Watada said the commission -- which will meet Wednesday to approve the conciliation agreements -- is negotiating with a third firm, Stringer Tusher Architects, over allegations that the firm made illegal political contributions. He declined to discuss the specifics of the case.
Under state law, an individual or company cannot give more than $4,000 to a candidate during a four-year election cycle. The legal limit for the governor's race is $6,000.
Richard Sato, president of Sato & Associates, said it was an oversight that his firm contributed more than the legal limit. He declined further comment.
Richard Brownlie, a partner in the Brownlie & Lee firm, and David Stringer, president of Stringer Tusher, could not be reached for comment.
The firms are among 60 city and state contractors under scrutiny by the Campaign Spending Commission in its investigation into the fund-raising practices of Harris and other Democrats. One of the firms, Geolabs Inc., agreed to pay a record $64,000 penalty to settle charges that its officers made $124,700 in excessive contributions to Harris, Apana, past Big Island mayoral candidate Fred Holschuh and former Honolulu mayoral candidate Arnold Morgado.
Earlier this year, the commission referred a complaint about the Harris campaign to city Prosecutor Peter Carlisle for a criminal investigation. The Harris campaign has denied wrongdoing.