Gifts to nonprofit City contractors contributed more than $170,000 to a nonprofit organization that Is part of city Prosecutor Peter Carlisle's investigation of Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris' 2000 re-election campaign.
questioned
City contractors gave funds to a
group led by a key Harris boosterBy Rick Daysog
rdaysog@starbulletin.comTax records filed with the Internal Revenue Service by the Environmental Foundation show that since 1998 city contractors made more than a dozen contributions to the tax-exempt organization, which is headed by attorney Peter Char, a top Harris campaign fund-raiser.
The contributions include some $80,000 that city contractors donated to the Environmental Foundation to help finance the 1999 Mayor's Asia-Pacific Environmental Summit.
[ ELECTION 2002 ] The foundation's donors included the engineering firms:
>> R.M. Towill Corp., which contributed a total of $50,000 to the nonprofit foundation, making it the largest contributor.
>> SSFM International Inc., which gave $26,500.
>> Mitsunaga and Associates Inc., which donated $15,000 to the Environmental Foundation and another $20,000 to a related nonprofit, the Friends of the City and County of Honolulu.
>> Park Engineering, which contributed $10,000.
The consulting firm of Parsons Brinkerhoff Group also gave a total of $15,500.
The Towill, Park and SSFM firms, which have received millions of dollars in nonbid city contracts, are under the scrutiny of Carlisle's office, which will convene an Oahu grand jury Thursday to investigate the Harris campaign.
Carlisle's office questioned one of the Environmental Foundation's directors, Denver attorney Michael Shea, yesterday.
City prosecutors and the Honolulu Police Department's white-collar division previously subpoenaed the Environmental Foundation's bank records and have queried several City Council members about a $100,000 city appropriation to the 1999 Mayor's Asia-Pacific Environmental Summit.
The prosecutor's office did not return calls. City spokeswoman Carol Costa had no comment.
William McCorriston, an attorney for the Harris campaign, said there is nothing wrong with contractors giving money to the foundation since it is a charity and not a political organization.
He believes that the prosecutor's inquiries are part of a campaign to smear the mayor and people linked to the charitable organization.
Bob Watada, executive director of the state Campaign Spending Commission, questioned whether contractors are circumventing state campaign finance law in contributing to the foundation.
Many of the contractors have contributed more than the $4,000 legal limit to Harris' campaign. Some, like Towill and Park, are linked to more than $40,000 in alleged excessive campaign contributions.
Shea said the contributions from the city contractors are unrelated to any work they may do for the Harris administration. Shea said the foundation solicited many of Hawaii's top environmental engineers and waste disposal firms that happen to do work for the city.
"It is not the least bit surprising to me that there is some overlap," Shea said.
City Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi said she plans to hold hearings next month on the Environmental Foundation and the Friends of the City and County of Honolulu, which also is headed by Harris campaign official Char.
Kobayashi, the City Council's budget chairwoman, questions whether the contributions to the Environmental Foundation are gifts to the city that should come before the city for approval.
Kobayashi said she also wants to know how the foundation and the Friends of the City spent the $100,000 of the city's money on the 1999 mayor's summit.
"It was a city-sponsored event, so that's why we need accountability," Kobayashi said.
State Office of Elections
