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Mansho accused
of using her city staff
for campaign work

The campaign panel
accepts her settlement for
spending violations

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By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Star-Bulletin

Evidence released by the state Campaign Spending Commission this week shows that City Councilwoman Rene Mansho used her city staff for campaign work on taxpayer time.

That would appear to bolster at least some of the charges against Mansho that are to be discussed by the city Ethics Commission at its meeting tomorrow.

The campaign commission voted 4-1 yesterday to accept a conciliatory agreement reached between Mansho and commission Executive Director Robert Watada.

Mansho will pay $40,000 to the Hawaii Election Campaign Fund as settlement for claims that she violated state campaign spending laws.

The conciliation agreement, signed by Mansho attorney Charles Price, includes the admission that the three-term councilwoman used her city staff to conduct campaign activities during city work hours on city property.

According to Campaign Spending Commission estimates, Mansho's city staff expended $93,361.76 in paid city time to work on her campaign. The work involved 13 former or current city employees from 1989 to 2000.

While using city time to work on a campaign is not a violation of campaign spending laws, Watada said, the time spent constituted "in-kind" contributions that should have been reported in her spending reports.

Chuck Totto, executive director of the Ethics Commission, has to date declined to discuss allegations against Mansho. But at least some of the charges are believed to center on the use of Mansho staff on city time to work on her campaign.

Under the terms of the settlement with the campaign commission, Mansho will pay $10,000 from personal funds. The remaining $30,000 is to come from her campaign account, which essentially empties out that fund.

In exchange, the commission has agreed to not refer its case to state attorneys for criminal prosecution.

Commission member Clifford Muraoka was the only person on the five-person panel to vote against settlement, stating he wanted the issue forwarded for criminal prosecution.

The commission tagged Mansho for a large variety of violations from 1989 to 2000.

Among the other violations Mansho did not contest are that she:

Collected $9,841.28 in campaign funds for travel and lodging for which she also received authorized compensation from Council coffers. Only $2,820.93 was reimbursed to the campaign account.

Had her staff coordinate and organize the Aloha Scholarship Golf Tournament for the Hawaii Academy of Performing Arts in 1999, which raised $21,750, but did not report the contributions in campaign disclosure reports.

Used $7,097.95 to pay rent for a "City Council" office at a Mililani shopping center, staffed by Council employees, from March to September 1998. Additional funds were used for electricity.

Paid for "numerous vague and questionable campaign expenditure entries," from dozens of meals listed as "public relations" to payments to floral shops listed as "gifts."

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City & County of Honolulu