Lingle scolded
for ethics violationThe governor allowed a lobby group
to work out of her public office
The state Ethics Commission has determined that Gov. Linda Lingle's administration broke the law by using state resources to assist a private nonprofit organization established by her office to solicit donations and push her education-reform initiatives.
But the panel decided yesterday that no further action was warranted after Lingle acknowledged unknowingly breaking the law, apologized for it, vowed to take precautions so it won't happen again and obtained nearly $30,000 from the private group, Citizens Achieving Reform in Education, to reimburse the state for use of public resources.
Based on those steps and Lingle's willingness to make public the commission's findings, the panel said in an informal advisory opinion that further action was unnecessary and would waste taxpayer resources.
Public-school librarian Faith Tomoyasu, who filed the initial complaint that triggered the commission investigation, said she was disappointed the panel didn't come down harder on administration officials for blatantly violating the law.
"They should've known better," Tomoyasu said. "I'm not a big CEO or a senator, I'm just a small little teacher, but I was asking questions about it."
Even the commission noted in its opinion that Lingle should have "perceived an ethics issue" once CARE became private.
The controversy first came to light publicly in an April Star-Bulletin article as the Democrat-controlled Legislature was considering several measures by the Republican governor to reform the education system.
The article detailed how the advisory group that Lingle formed in October had been transformed by January into a private fund-raising and lobbying group still operating from her office. At the time, CARE had raised $80,000 in donations.
Based on that article, Tomoyasu filed her complaint with the commission. Two days later, Alex Santiago, then-chairman of the Democratic Party of Hawaii, filed another one. That same week, Lingle decided to sever ties with CARE after commission executive Dan Mollway told her chief of staff, Bob Awana, that the arrangement appeared to violate the state ethics code.
The governor, at her own expense, hired private attorney Kenneth Robbins to respond to the complaints.
In a May 28 letter to the commission, Robbins said Lingle and Awana regretted not seeking legal advice before establishing CARE as a private 501(c)4 entity, so named for the federal tax code that governs such nonprofit groups.
Lingle and her staff incorrectly believed CARE was serving the public good, rather than the public serving CARE, according to Robbins.
"The governor and her staff now understand that the state resources were being utilized to assist in promoting the purposes of CARE and, thus, constituted an ethics violation," Robbins wrote.
The governor in April had criticized the initial ethics complaint as a diversionary tactic by Democrats to deflect attention from their "fake" education reform. Tomoyasu is a long-time Democrat.
Robbins said Lingle did not intentionally violate the law and that was evident because the state resources were used openly, even after questions were raised about the practice.
As part of her response to the commission, Lingle submitted a check from CARE totaling $29,843.
The funds were to reimburse the state based on the number of employees who worked on CARE matters once the group became private, how much time they devoted to such matters and the amount of office space, equipment and supplies used, according to Robbins.
Lingle apologized to the commission and the people of Hawaii for the infractions, he said.
The CARE controversy was cited when legislators passed a bill requiring top state officials, including the governor, to take a one-time ethics class. Lingle this week called the bill a political ploy by Democrats, but said she probably will let it become law without her signature
