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Mansho quits Council Honolulu City Councilwoman Rene Mansho handed her resignation to Chairman John DeSoto this morning on the day when a state grand jury had been scheduled to hear possible criminal charges against her.
She resigns on the day
a grand jury was to hear
charges over campaign spendingBy Gordon Y.K. Pang
gpang@starbulletin.com"I'm taking responsibility," Mansho said after her meeting with DeSoto. "Today is my last day of work."
Mansho declined comment on whether her resignation was part of a deal to avoid criminal charges and referred questions about the grand jury to her attorney.
City Prosecutor Peter Carlisle also declined to comment this morning, stating he was not allowed to comment on grand jury proceedings.
About 11 current and former Mansho employees had been subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury today. But prosecutors last night called them and told them the hearing was being postponed.
DeSoto said the council hopes to appoint someone to replace Mansho on the council. The council has 30 days, or until May 10 to appoint a successor or Mayor Jeremy Harris will have the opportunity to do so.
DeSoto said he would like to appoint someone who does not intend to seek a council seat this fall and said he will consult with other members of the council before making a decision.
According to several sources, council members have been talking about appointing Darrlyn Bunda, executive director of the Waipahu Community Association, to the post.
Both Bunda and DeSoto declined to respond to that speculation.
In her resignation letter, Mansho wrote, "it is with deep regret that I am taking this step...
"To my constituents and colleagues, I apologize for having to leave under these circumstances and genuinely thank them for their many years of support."
Desoto said it was a "sad" situation and that Mansho should be concentrating on what is best for herself and her family.
Mansho, who has been on the Council since October 1988, is the second member to resign in the past year.
Convicted former Councilman Andy Mirikitani resigned at the end of last November just before he was sentenced on federal charges that he received kickbacks from bonuses he gave to aides.
The white-collar unit of the Honolulu Police Department began investigating Mansho last spring when the state Campaign Spending Commission fined her $40,000 for misspending campaign funds. Additionally, Mansho reimbursed the Council $40,000 for misusing staff time after the Ethics Commission found her in violation of ethics rules.
Mansho's constituents also filed a petition with the Hawaii Supreme Court seeking to have her impeached from office.
Mansho has been representing Council District 1, which includes the North Shore, Wahiawa, Mililani and portions of Waipahu.
Mansho has been known for her strong pro-business positions and economic development initiatives as well as her work fostering relations with other municipalities.
Her personality has been defined by her cheerful disposition.
She introduced a resolution calling on all city employees to answer all phone calls by saying "Aloha."
But she may be most remembered as the key vote in 1992 against a half-percent excise tax increase that killed the funding for a mass transit train project that would have cost more than $1 billion.
Mansho is a former schoolteacher and Wahiawa native.
Following her meeting with DeSoto, she walked into a budget committee meeting telling reporters she intended to complete her committee duties for today.
City & County of Honolulu