The City and County of Honolulu has carefully followed all procurement requirements regarding the award of design, engineering and other contracts during Mayor Mufi Hannemann's administration.

The recent complaint filed by former Gov. Ben Cayetano should be recognized for what it is - an obvious politically motivated attack meant to benefit retired Congressman Neil Abercrombie, his favored candidate in the upcoming race for governor.

Cayetano seems to have conveniently forgotten that it was during his term as governor that his administration promulgated a procurement rule that we, and all government entities in Hawaii, have followed and he has selectively questioned. The state awarded numerous contracts in exactly the same way Cayetano now professes to abhor. Somehow, this escaped his attention, and he narrowly focused his dubious complaint on the city.

It's quite curious that the only member of the City Council to receive a copy of Cayetano's complaint directly from those filing it was Abercrombie supporter Ann Kobayashi, whom Cayetano endorsed in her unsuccessful 2008 campaign for mayor. Surely, her involvement is no coincidence.

This attack on the city's procurement processes and the rail transit project is nothing less than a tawdry attempt to use fear and negativity to boost the political fortunes of a retired congressman who has of late evolved into a tepid supporter of our rail transit project.

There is certainly no problem with Cayetano and Kobayashi working diligently on Abercrombie's behalf in responsible ways. After all, that's what a democracy is all about.

But making baseless allegations designed to create doubt and confusion for political purposes is an abuse of the processes and resources that are in place to ensure integrity in public institutions. Such antics sadly pollute our democratic system and insult the intelligence of our voters.

Let's review the specifics of this fake controversy.

Cayetano - and allies whom he refused to name when questioned by a reporter - alleged that the city failed to negotiate with the first-ranked respondent on numerous solicitations. That's just not true.

The complainers apparently reviewed public information available to anyone on a state website and mistakenly concluded that respondents listed in alphabetical order, as required by the state, were listed in ranked order. That's not much of an analysis.

The complainers also highlighted a contract for project management services of the rail project, contending that it should not have been awarded last year since no other qualified company submitted a proposal. But the rule created during Cayetano's tenure was clearly created to address such situations.

Hawaii Administrative Rules, Sec. 3-122-66, clearly state that “;if the names of less than three qualified persons are submitted ... the head of the purchasing agency may determine that negotiations ... may be conducted provided that the prices submitted are fair and reasonable; and other prospective offerors had reasonable opportunity to respond.”;

Multiple state agencies, from the Attorney General's Office on down, have awarded numerous contracts in exactly the same way.

Each of the design, engineering and management contracts described in accounts of Cayetano's complaint - which the city has not received as of May 7 - was fair, reasonable and awarded in full compliance with procurement laws.

Shame on Ben Cayetano for fabricating a non-issue, especially since his administration was fraught with controversy surrounding his chief political fundraiser, Dennis Mitsunaga - now widely reputed to be Abercrombie's fundraiser - who had his share of questionable fundraising activities and government contracts.

Talk about hypocrisy!