Maui Rep. Kaniela Ing once looked like one of the bright young lights of local politics, part of a new generation of leaders with fresh ideas for taking care of Hawaii’s longstanding social and economic problems.

But he’s turned out to be more of an old-time rogue operator who cares more about taking care of himself than the poor and dispossessed constituents he claims to champion.

The state Campaign Spending Commission last week fined Ing more than $15,000 for a staggering array of false reports on his contributions and spending, covering every report he filed between 2011 and 2016. He still hasn’t cleared up how he spent some $87,000 or where $29,000 in contributions came from.

Ing, a 29-year-old Democrat now running for Congress, used campaign money to make personal rent payments, cover personal legal fees and pay credit card debt of his domestic partner.

He admitted depositing a $2,000 check made out to his campaign into his personal account, but blamed the bank teller for letting him do it — continuing a long history of blaming others and his youth.

He keeps saying he takes responsibility for his mistakes, but never really does.

The commission rightly refused to reduce his fine based on his pleas of poverty, instead offering him a payment plan.

Commissioner Gary Shoda made a strong case for referring the violations for criminal prosecution, arguing “the level or the number of violations is astounding … every single report is incorrect.”

Ing was spared criminal charges by other commissioners who didn’t want to ruin his career, with one saying “there are not enough good politicians.”

That a person involved in the arm-wrestling to get Ing to honestly report his campaign finances would equate him to a “good politician” is astounding in its own right.

The lack of enough good politicians hardly justifies giving a pass to a bad politician. A chronic blame-shifter who can’t honestly manage his campaign and personal finances shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near the public’s finances.

Ing also faces questions from the Federal Election Commission, which informed him last month that he left out key information from a federal filing in his campaign for the congressional seat Colleen Hana- busa is leaving to run for governor.

If Ing’s career is ruined, it’s nobody’s fault but his own; Maui voters trusted him and he didn’t take it seriously enough to make even a minimal effort to play it straight on his campaign finances.

The shame of it is that Hawaii really does need to hand off political power to a younger generation of leaders who have more stake in the future being created and fewer ties to narrow special interests that have led us into trouble.

Let’s not view Kaniela Ing as a stain on his entire generation.

Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com.