By NANCY COOK LAUER
Stephens Media
After spending its second two-hour closed-door session in as many weeks, the Hawaii County Council on Tuesday apparently rejected a settlement offer from three fired election workers who have threatened a lawsuit.
The employees, including warehouse manager Glen Shikuma, his boss Elections Program Administrator Pat Nakamoto and two other employees, were fired after an investigation by the Clerk’s Office reportedly found alcohol and privately owned sign-making equipment in the elections warehouse. The Elections Office is the jurisdiction of the Clerk’s Office and ultimately, the County Council, rather than the mayor’s administration.
Hilo attorney Ted Hong had given the council until Thursday to act on the settlement offer, or it would lapse. Hong said in January he intended to file a defamation lawsuit seeking $500,000 for each client’s emotional distress and injury to their professional standing. In particular, Hong is accusing County Clerk Jamae Kawauchi and Council Chairman Dominic Yagong of wrong-doing in the firings.
“The basis for the claims are that the County Clerk falsely accused and made defamatory statement about them as a ‘pretext’ to fire them, infliction of emotional distress and the unconstitutional withholding of their personal property,” Hong said in his January statement of complaint.
He said Tuesday that he plans a Thursday news conference to outline the next steps.
Following a motion by Kohala Councilman Pete Hoffmann, several council members seemed set to let the settlement offer lapse without further council action.
But North Kona Councilman Angel Pilago and Hilo Councilman J Yoshimoto prevailed upon the council to return to closed session to give everyone a chance to speak their piece on the issue.
“I choose to go into executive session,” said Pilago, who remarked he’d “walked out” of the previous executive session. “I choose to discuss the settlement and not arbitrarily sweep this aside.”
After the lengthy session, Pilago and Yoshimoto were joined by Hilo Councilman Dennis Onishi and Puna Concilman Fred Blas in voting in favor of Corporation Counsel’s recommendation on the settlement offer. Voting against it, in addition to Hoffmann, were South Kona Councilwoman Brenda Ford, Ka’u Councilwoman Brittany Smart and Yagong. With Hilo Councilman Donald Ikeda being recused because he had previously worked in the Elections Office, the motion to concur with Corporation Counsel died on a 4-4 vote.
The council did not clarify the ramifications of the vote. Under state open meetings laws, the council is within its rights to keep details of the session secret until after its actions no longer jeopardize negotiations on grievances, said Jennifer Brooks, an attorney with the state Office of Information Practices.
The employees are going through the grievance process and have the option of appealing to the Mayor’s Office if the grievance doesn’t go their way. According to the county charter, employees must file a claim with the Clerk’s Office before becoming eligible to file a lawsuit in circuit court.
It is a violation of county code for employees to run private businesses out of county facilities and to drink or have alcohol at job sites.
But Hong contends the employees were falsely accused, wrongly fired and then publicly embarrassed when their names were released to the public.
“It is my opinion that Mr. Yagong and Ms. Kawauchi are innocent of any wrongdoing,” said Ford, repeating Tuesday a statement she had made after an executive session earlier this month.
Email Nancy Cook Lauer at ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com.
