Council removes
Mansho from
leadership spots

This comes after she was fined
for misuse of funds and staff

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By Rod Antone
Star-Bulletin

CITY COUNCIL MEMBER Rene Mansho is not quite the Council member she used to be.

Since being fined $80,000 in fines and reimbursements earlier this month, Mansho's fellow Council members have also stripped her of several of her leadership positions.

Yesterday, a quorum of five Council members met behind closed doors for three minutes, then came out and announced that Mansho is to be removed as chairwoman of the Public Works Committee.

Mansho last week had already stepped down as chairwoman of the Budget Committee and as Council vice chairwoman.

Chairman Jon Yoshimura and Council members Gary Okino, Romy Cachola, John Henry Felix and Steve Holmes also removed Mansho from all positions where she would represent the city and county on local and national boards. That includes her membership with the Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization, the Hawaii State Association of Counties, the Western Interstate Region and the National Association of Counties.

"What happened today was a lesson for all of us," Cachola said.

Mansho's sanctions come after the state Campaign Spending Commission fined her $40,000 for misuse of campaign funds and the city Ethics Commission had settled with her for another $40,000 for claims that she had her staff work on noncity projects, including her campaign, while on city time.

"I think we sent a clear message that this was inappropriate," Okino said.

Mansho is still a member on five Council committees and will also chair a new committee, the Customer Service Committee, Cachola said. Though the Council could have stripped Mansho of all committees, Okino said to "cut her off completely" would be unfair to Mansho's constituents.

The Council also did not recommend giving Mansho a letter of censure for her actions.

Councilman Holmes said such a letter "would not make a strong statement" and would be "gutless" because it carries no weight of the law.

Because of the short time that the quorum met, reporters asked if the Council had already decided Mansho's fate ahead of time. Cachola said they did and that yesterday's meeting was just to "formalize everything."

Reporters also asked whether city administration had any influence on their decision, to which Cachola said, "No."

Mansho could not be reached for comment.

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City & County of Honolulu