City officials’ gifts are
legally going out of style

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By Gordon Y.K. Pang
gpang@starbulletin.com

Honorary memberships to exclusive golf and yacht clubs and other items given to Honolulu's mayor and other city officials are a thing of the past under a new law approved by the City Council that took effect July 1.

In a report filed yesterday, Mayor Jeremy Harris detailed some of the memberships and other gifts he received during the fiscal year that ended June 30. Those memberships, and other gifts with an aggregate value of more than $200, are no longer allowed under the new law.

The previous law had no limit on gifts but required disclosure on July 31 each year of any gifts given in aggregate of $200 from any one source.

The memberships listed by Harris for the past year: Waialae Country Club ($327 a month), Oahu Country Club ($296 a month), Honolulu Country Club ($290 a month), Mid-Pacific Country Club ($275 a month), Pacific Club ($195 a month), Plaza Club ($131 a month), Kaneohe Yacht Club ($86 a month) and Waikiki Yacht Club ($60 a month).

Harris, a movie enthusiast, also reported receiving two honorary memberships each from Consolidated Amusement, Signature Theatres and Wallace Theatre -- which he listed at $175 each.

The mayor also received a surfboard with an estimated value of $500 from the organization Protect the Planet.

Managing Director Ben Lee listed various tickets he received for nonprofit fund-raisers including two each to the American Heart Association's Heart Ball at $1,000 given by Vivian and Chuck Sted.

Chuck Sted is a businessman and member of the Honolulu Board of Water Supply.

Lee also reported two tickets to a Bishop Museum dinner valued at $600 given by Becker Communications, formerly public relations firm for the Harris campaign; two tickets to the Gala of Stars Dinner valued at $350 given by Engineering Concepts; and a Hawaii Women's Legal Foundation function valued at $300 by the law firm of McCorriston Miller Mukai MacKinnon, which has represented the mayor's campaign.

Several other members of the Harris administration also reported receiving tickets for nonprofit fund-raising gatherings from private entities.

City Council members Gary Okino and Jon Yoshimura reported honorary memberships at Waialae, although Okino reported he never used it, while Yoshimura said he did not know its value.

Councilman Romy Cachola reported a $400 gift from Verizon Hawaii to attend the Hawaii Hall of Fame Invitational golf tournament in Kapalua.

A number of appointed and elected officials also reported receiving APCOA parking passes, although many could not give the monetary value.

Only those receiving gifts valued at $200 or more were required to file by yesterday's deadline.

But 35 people, including Council members Duke Bainum and Steve Holmes, filed reports anyway saying they received no gifts valued at $200 or more.