The county Board of Ethics on Monday unanimously gave North Kona Councilwoman Karen Eoff the go-ahead to sponsor a bill regulating vacation rentals.
That was the board’s role in the process.
But Eoff still must disclose a possible conflict of interest and get a ruling from the council chairwoman, according to the county charter and council rules of procedure, said Corporation Counsel Joe Kamelamela.
However, he said, council members have an obligation to vote.
“The council members have to operate,” Kamelamela said. “But they have rules. … Rules regulate how government is going to operate.”
Ethics Board Vice Chairman Kenny Goodenow agreed with Kamelamela’s legal interpretation.
“As long as there’s disclosure, you can vote on anything,” Goodenow said. “The real point is you’re not really receiving a benefit.”
Also still pending is a possible formal complaint from a Seaview vacation rental operator who’s asking why Eoff didn’t declare her vacation rental income on financial disclosure forms. Eoff, saying she misunderstood what the form required, subsequently filed amended financial disclosures for the past six years. In 2017, she had income between $10,000 and $50,000 on the condo unit, according to her amended disclosure.
The board’s decision came after Kamelamela, a member of Mayor Harry Kim’s Cabinet, a County Council colleague and a local vacation rental expert all testified on Eoff’s behalf. Kim was in the audience as the board came to its decision.
“The Mayor’s Office has held this vacation rental issue in high priority and we started working on this bill last year,” said Roy Takemoto, one of Kim’s executive assistants. “The bill as introduced, we would have introduced basically the same thing without much substantive difference from what was introduced.”
Takemoto said the administration asked Eoff and Kona Councilman Dru Kanuha to introduce it because it was such a hot issue in West Hawaii.
South Kona/Ka‘u Councilwoman Maile David also came to Eoff’s defense.
“The question is whether Ms. Eoff is using her position as a council member to get special privileges, consideration, treatment or exemption beyond what is available to every other person,” David said. “I say no.”
Eoff, who owns a vacation rental unit in a zoning district that allows vacation rentals under Bill 108, asked the Ethics Board if it would be a conflict of interest to sponsor the bill. Vacation rentals are currently not regulated under county law, although zoning regulations allow commercial uses in commercial and resort districts.
Eoff’s request for an advisory opinion came after a vacation rental owner in a zoning category that would be limited by the bill questioned her participation in the legislation.
“I don’t believe I violated any of the provisions of the code of ethics,” Eoff said. “I believe that I was acting within my legislative duties in taking on this bill.”
“I’ve learned a lot from this,” Eoff added, acknowledging she made some mistakes.
Rob Guzman, in a letter requesting the board investigate, questioned Eoff’s possible conflict of interest because the bill requires him, in an agricultural district, to pay $500 annually for the privilege of operating a vacation rental, while those under her zoning would merely have to register.
Guzman also asked whether Eoff ran afoul of the ethics code when she misrepresented her vacation rental ownership in email exchanges with him and told him not to pursue his questions.
“She lied to me as a voter in Hawaii,” he told the board.
Eoff said the email response where she said, “I do not have — and have never had — a rental of any kind. … Please stop sending misinformation,” was written in haste from her cellphone when she saw that Guzman copied his email to a number of top county officials and the media. She was in a meeting at the time and her response didn’t come out as planned, she said.
“I didn’t want the message to go any further,” she said about writing a quick response.
Board member Rick Robinson said it could be seen as an “unfair competitive advantage” for some vacation rental operators to have to pay a $500 annual fee while others did not. Noting that “perception is not reality,” Robinson still saw good reason for Guzman to have questions about the fee, the email response and the financial disclosures.
“I can understand why Mr. Guzman had his concerns and he brought them to the Ethics Board,” Robinson said.
Guzman said after the meeting that he’s still deciding whether to pursue a formal complaint.
“It’s pretty clear where they all stand. No one wants to rule against their friend,” Guzman said. “They can simply fail to disclose … and say ‘I misunderstood.’ Go ahead and hide anything you want as long as you disclose it if you get caught.”
Email Nancy Cook Lauer at ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com.
Of course…did anyone expect anything else? Kamelamela is as biased as it gets, and Harry Kim or his wanna be yakuza Okabe will always be close by to ensure it all goes as planned. The only thing transparent is the blatant lies and friendships that rule our government and impose whatever the dictator wants.
Corruption wins, as usual. Maile David was the only fellow council member corrupt enough to stand up for lying, hiding at least $60,000 in income, intimidation, and suppressing information from voters. Voters in her district should never forget this. Eoff lied to the board repeatedly in her testimony by mischaracterizing the contents of her bill regarding regulation of her rental, hosted rentals, and transfer of vacation rental licenses upon sale in areas outside of resort zones. You know those property tax bills you receive from the county, go ahead and misinterpret that they’re just a suggestion, rather than a requirement. Get pulled over, just declare you thought “speed limit” meant minimum speed. We’re supposed to believe that Eoff, who is Vice-Chair of the Finance committee and a small business owner of 35+ years, misunderstood the term “income” every year for 7 years? We’re supposed to believe she had a random memory lapse when she stated she’d never owned any rental of any kind? We’re supposed to believe there’s no benefit to her in banning the competition and/or charging them $500 per year to do what she’s doing with her vacation rental? Eoff has no mortgage on her vacation rental, yet somehow still maintains she’s never had a profit on it! Eoff provided no proof to the board that she’d ever paid taxes on her property at State or Federal levels. They’re just supposed to take her word for it now, after her extensive record of dishonesty. The “Ethics” Board is made up of appointees of the Mayor who get approved by Council, rather than being a true check and balance on their corruption. Their lawyer worked closely with Eoff for years and a board member disclosed he’s so close to Ms. Eoff that he even has artwork she gave him in his home. This board stated essentially that no conflict of interest can ever exist, as long as it gets disclosed, even if that’s only after getting caught in a lie that’s front page news and one of the two major island newspaper’s editorial board calls for recusal over conflict of interest. This is your government, people. Vote accordingly!
The demo rat stuck on stupid agenda is based on corruption and it will never change under such a massive public display of fraud and abuse of power without accountability. Then again do not forget or forgive the jackasses that voted to perpetuate more fraud and corruption, they too are very much part of the problem. Thus the demo rat stuck on stupid agenda is perpetuated.
Is there any doubt that demo rats are corrupt? Is there any doubt that the fools that elected these crooks deserve it? It’s called stuck on stupid and they got what they voted for, corruption and fraud.
I think it has little to do with being a democrat. Corruption is rampant here, regardless of party. But it’s clear that in Hawaii at least, democrats in office are corrupt. They just call themselves democrats because that’s the only pathway to power here.
There is nothing but demo rats, their corrupt agenda is the source of this divisive and abusive power. They call themselves democrats but their logo is a smiling jackass, they are what they are.
Stuck on Stupid Broken Record Steve, enDearing himself once again to 60-70% of voters in Hawaii. You, sir, are the biggest jackass in these parts. As always the problem is both non-partisan and bi-partisan, but you never get it.
And what is happening in the White House and Congress is normal, good and OK?
3 sexual harassment lawsuits against the POTUS?
And that’s just today!
The republican party has a logo of an elephant.
Full of shit and eats peanuts.
Keep drinking the kool aid my head up your fat worthless ignorant stupid dumb asshole friend!
I’m a boomer and I’m so glad that the millennials are coming into this political arena because the two major parties have become so full of themselves. It’s sad to see the way democrats and republicans are behaving. It’s so obvious that politicians are working for corporations and they don’t care that we know. They do their best to hide it until elections are over then they screw us over. It doesn’t matter what party it is. Wake up people! Make room for the next generation.