State Senate President Donna Mercado Kim acknowledged Tuesday that she called University of Hawaii President M.R.C. Greenwood last spring to ask about the status of her son’s application to law school, but she denied that she was angry or claimed law school administrators were incompetent.
Greenwood, who is retiring from the university in September, referred to Kim’s telephone call in an interview broadcast by Hawaii News Now on Monday in which she described her deteriorating relationships with the state Legislature and Gov. Neil Abercrombie.
Greenwood said Kim was "quite upset and angry" last spring that her son had not heard from UH about whether he had been admitted to law school and that Kim questioned the competency of law school administrators.
"And I think her exact words were, ‘If I don’t get the answers I’m expecting, you can expect to be answering these questions in front of the Legislature next year,’" Greenwood said.
She said she called the law school dean and eventually discovered that Kim’s son, Micah Aiu, had never applied. "And I had the pleasure of telling the senator that," Greenwood said, adding that Kim was "not very happy."
Greenwood related her account of the incident in the context of explaining that she should have picked up the signs that Kim would investigate the university. Kim led the Senate’s hearings last year to review the university’s handling of a Stevie Wonder concert scam. But asked by Hawaii News Now whether she thought Kim had an "ax to grind" during the investigation because of the inquiry about her son, Greenwood responded, "I think that would be a stretch."
Kim (D, Kalihi Valley-Moanalua-Halawa) disputed key details of Greenwood’s account. She said she called Greenwood "as a mother" when she had doubts about whether her son had applied to law school. She said, during that time, it was not unusual for her and the university president to talk with each other.
Kim said she was not asking for any special treatment, was not angry at Greenwood or the university, did not call law school administrators incompetent and did not threaten any investigation. "I was very surprised and thought it was unfortunate that a person of the president’s stature would resort to misrepresenting our conversation," she said.
Kim said Greenwood called her back and informed her there was no application from her son on file with the law school. Kim said her son later explained that he did not apply, but had said he applied to appease her.
Micah Aiu has since been accepted to the law school and starts later this year.
Lynne Waters, a UH spokeswoman, said Greenwood stands by what she said in the interview.
Greenwood also told Hawaii News Now that she does not believe she and other UH administrators and regents were treated with respect by Kim during the Senate investigation. She said she did not appreciate the way Kim asked questions, and claimed the senator basically portrayed administrators and regents as incompetent.
"She is entitled to ask her questions," Greenwood said. "I don’t think she’s entitled to try to ruin people’s reputations or embarrass their families."
Kim has long been known at the state Capitol as a tough interrogator, and her conduct during the Senate hearing did not appear to be out of character. Greenwood and other UH administrators, however, were panned by many political analysts for a lack of transparency and accountability.
"I thought we were very respectful, but we challenged her answers. We challenged everybody’s answers," Kim said. "I do that all the time. I challenge people’s answers."
