Mayor keeping
faith in nominee

A suit alleged John Reed made
racial remarks to employees

Mayor Mufi Hannemann says he is standing behind John Reed, his nominee for city managing director, despite allegations that the former executive made racially derogatory remarks to employees.

"I feel fully confident that in fact he has not done anything wrong, and there's no reason to ask him to step down and for me to withdraw his name," the mayor said yesterday at a news conference with Reed.

Reed was the chief executive officer of the teeth-whitening company BriteSmile, based in Walnut Creek, Calif., from 1999 until he retired last spring.

Three BriteSmile employees sued in 2003, alleging Reed called one of the plaintiffs "Aunt Jemima" and referred to an Asian employee as "Mr. Sushi" and another woman as a "half-breed" after he heard her speaking German on the phone, according to the Contra Costa Times newspaper.

Reed, who is Caucasian, denied he said those things but offered examples as to how things he did say were misinterpreted. He said he was trying to explain the concept of "hapa" -- someone of a mixed race -- to an employee of the California company. He recalled telling an employee who was of Caucasian and African-American descent: "In Hawaii we call people that are half of something, half another, hapa, half-half. And my daughter is half-half."

"I never said half-breed," he said at the news conference.

Reed, who commuted between Hawaii and California, also said there was one conversation surrounding his suntan.

"The group of people I had in the one area, sales area, were all primarily African American, and they said ... 'You're trying to look like us.' And I said, 'I'm trying.' Well, that was totally turned around," he said.

The attorney for the three employees who sued could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Reed said the company settled the lawsuit for 15 percent of the amount sought by the plaintiffs. He declined to say what the amount was, citing a confidentiality agreement. He said the company settled to avoid costly litigation.

Before going to BriteSmile, Reed was chairman of Pacific retailing for DFS Group. Reed was also the first chairman of the Hawaii Tourism Authority until he left for BriteSmile.

Reed said that while he has been a party to several business lawsuits, this was the only one that criticized his management style. But he acknowledged that there have been some concerns expressed about his management style locally.

"Younger, I was a volatile person, as many of us were," he said.

Hannemann noted: "I have never heard anyone say or feel or believe that Mr. Reed is ... the least bit racist in any shape or form. Here's a man who is married to a Japanese-American woman, here's a man who has a lot of local friends in our community of all ethnic backgrounds, so I believe Mr. Reed when he says that those statements were never made."

The mayor added: "I will not stand one iota for anyone in my administration that believes and harbors those kinds of (racist) beliefs. I know what it's like to be looked upon and says you can only be certain things."

Hannemann said Reed should have told him about the lawsuit but that he understands why Reed did not tell him about it until media reports surfaced Wednesday.

Reed said he considered the lawsuit "immaterial" with no truth to it.

Hannemann said he checked out Reed's background by talking to those who have worked with him -- both in business and labor -- and Reed received high marks.

Reed's nomination for the city's No. 2 post is subject to City Council confirmation.

At the news conference, Hannemann also expressed confidence in Patrick Kubota, his choice to be deputy budget director.

Kubota was executive director of Unity House until three years ago. The federal government seized control of Unity House as part of a long-running criminal investigation of former Unity House President Tony Rutledge.

Kubota, who was one of Hannemann's campaign strategists, said he has been told that he is not a target of the investigation, but he is a cooperating witness, as are other Unity House employees. Kubota's nomination does not need Council approval.