The Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees, aligned under new leadership, has decided to enter into negotiations to buy out the contract of CEO Kamana‘opono Crabbe.
But whether the agency’s top staffer since 2012 actually loses his job is yet to be seen. The board ultimately might not have the votes, and Crabbe has vowed to fight for his job.
In fact, Crabbe was defiant as he addressed the board earlier this week, waiving his right to discuss his situation in a closed session that was scheduled to address his employment contract.
Crabbe reminded trustees that his new three-year, $450,000 contract is legally binding and enforceable in court. He said there is no provision to terminate without cause, and that a costly buyout would be “a breach of your fiduciary duties.”
However, he added, “No matter what you offer me as a buyout, I will adamantly decline.” He said the reason is his “unwavering commitment to OHA’s vision and mission, plain and simple.”
But new Chairwoman Rowena Akana said the agency under Crabbe is suffering from out-of-control spending, including, for example, trips by his administration to Europe, New Zealand, Australia and elsewhere.
“The cost is outrageous,” she told trustees Tuesday.
Akana said too many employees have left OHA in the past couple of years, while many unqualified people, needing costly training, have been hired.
“This has become a very difficult kind of atmosphere for trustees to work in,” she said. “I’ve seen too many things happen. The atmosphere has never been like it is now. I’ve been through six administrators, and it’s never been this bad, where the staff is afraid to talk to trustees and are being threatened to be written up.”
Trustee Dan Ahuna disagreed: “Everything you said is a complete lie.”
The board majority, however, voted to enter the buyout negotiations in closed session.
Contacted Thursday, trustee Peter Apo cautioned about making too much of the closed-door vote. He said that anytime a board changes leadership, discussions about changes in staff come with it.
“It’s a normal procedure after every election,” he said.
Apo said there were five votes to enter negotiations with Crabbe’s representative, but it will take six votes to take further action.
Apo, a Crabbe supporter, said it’s possible the effort will result in some administrative changes, but it’s far from certain that the CEO will be asked to step down.
Akana couldn’t be reached for comment Thursday, but she told Hawaii Public Radio that Crabbe has created a destructive atmosphere at OHA. She said the administrator has had a difficult time carrying out board policy.
Crabbe, a former clinical psychologist who is fluent in the Hawaiian language, is excellent in the areas of health and culture, she said, but lacks the expertise in economic development, a major focus of OHA.
Akana said the buyout will be “cheaper in the long run” and will allow the trustees to hire someone “who wants to work with us rather than against us.”
Crabbe could not be reached for comment Thursday, but earlier he said that over the past five years he’s done his best to adhere to the mission of OHA while setting the agency on a path toward fiscal responsibility.
But it’s difficult when some trustees are “tearing our image down,” he told trustees Tuesday.
“Employees are subject to erratic, inconsistent, indecisive decision-making and behavior unbecoming of servant leaders,” he said. “Power and politics has driven us to a deplorable state of morale and insanity,” a condition that has undermined the agency’s mission, he added.
“We are looking for Hawaiian leaders to behave in a Hawaiian manner with Hawaiian characteristics, and that means pono (righteous) leadership,” he said.
Crabbe concluded his remarks this way:
“I humble myself before thee, and I ask for your forgiveness if my words and actions have offended you. And therefore I mihi (repent). I ask for your forgiveness and repent, for it was not out of spite but more out of frustration. To sit in this chair and endure the kind of trepidation I have to go through … to be quite honest, I’m fed up with it. But I continue to pick myself up and touch the shoulders of my brother to keep on fighting for the mission of OHA.”
