Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.

Panel: Mansho
spending improper

The Campaign Spending
Commission may send the
case to the attorney general

---

By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Star-Bulletin

Honolulu City Councilwoman Rene Mansho made unauthorized campaign expenditures totaling tens of thousands of dollars, according to a proposed draft report of the state Campaign Spending Commission staff.

Commission executive director Robert Watada is expected to recommend the allegations be forwarded to Attorney General Earl Anzai's office for further investigation when the commission takes up Mansho's case at its meeting Tuesday afternoon.

Mansho today referred comments to her attorneys. Mansho attorney Charles Price said Mansho "vehemently denies that she intentionally violated any campaign spending laws."

The city Ethics Commission has also been looking into possible wrongdoing by Mansho involving alleged misuse of staff work time.

Watada's draft report states that campaign disclosures made by Friends for Rene Mansho "reflect vague and questionable campaign expenditure entries."

The focus of the investigation is on expenses incurred by the committee that were not related to a campaign. Watada said today that a key question is whether Mansho knowingly violated campaign spending laws that state "the money must be expended for purposes of a campaign, or to influence the outcome of that candidate's election."

Commission staff have noted that Mansho is ineligible to run for re-election because of term limits and has yet to announce intentions to run for another office. But she still held two fund-raisers since her last contest.

Among the questionable expenses listed in the draft report are:

$12,212 in American Express charges, including travel and lodging expenses for at least 13 trips to Japan, the neighbor islands and the mainland.

$7,097.95 for establishing a "City Council" office at a Mililani shopping center staffed by her Council employees. Additional money was used to pay electricity.

$5,929.46 in telephone and paging expenses.

$1,850.46 in charges related to promotion of Aloha Boat Days.

$1,475.54 in expenses at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel's Hanohano Room.

Price said Watada's intention to forward the issue to Anzai's office for criminal prosecution is "irresponsible because we just received the specific allegations yesterday and have not yet an opportunity to provide the backup receipts and information for many of the listed items."

Many of the allegations involve contributions that were made to charitable or service organizations, which are allowed by the commission, Price said. The hotel expenses in question were for conferences and conventions related to her duties as a Council member, he said.

The new complaint caught Mansho off guard, Price said. Up until now, discussions with the commission have centered on "whether Ms. Mansho unknowingly had exceeded her surplus campaign fund limit and we were trying to determine that, and if so, whether she should pay back any excess."