The Honolulu Ethics Commission on Friday named Laurie Wong-Nowinski acting executive director.
The appointment is effective Aug. 1, according to a news release from the Department of Corporation Counsel on behalf of the commission at 4:50 p.m. Friday.
“We are happy to have her expertise and know-how and look forward to her hitting the ground running,” the release said.
Longtime Director Chuck Totto resigned three weeks ago, leaving the office with no director, associate legal counsel or investigator and only two clerical staffers.
Wong-Nowinski had been Totto’s associate legal counsel, his second-in-command, but resigned amid controversy effective April 1.
At its meeting last week, the commission voted in a closed session to give its chairwoman, Victoria Marks, the authority to offer a contract to someone. Afterward, Marks and other members declined to say to whom or for what position.
At the same meeting, the commission voted to establish a subcommittee, formally called a permitted interaction group, to search for applicants and make a recommendation to fill the vacancies. It’s not clear whether Wong- Nowinski’s appointment, described in the release as to a full-time acting position, nullifies the need for the subcommittee.
Neither the length of the contract nor her salary was provided in Friday’s release.
Totto resigned June 15 after months of speculation following a lengthy series of clashes with commission members, primarily appointees of Mayor Kirk Caldwell, and administration officials, including Corporation Counsel Donna Leong and her staff.
Totto served an unpaid, one-month suspension in March for, among other things, allegedly fostering a poor work environment.
The investigation that led to Totto’s suspension was triggered by a complaint filed by an employee the commission did not name. The employee’s name was redacted from all documents released by the commission following a formal government-records request by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and other media.
Among the allegations by the complainant was that Totto pressed for litigation against City Council members, which suggests the person has professional legal skills. During the time frame detailed in the complaint, Wong-Nowinski was the only attorney on staff besides Totto and thus is widely considered to have been the filer of the complaint.
During Totto’s absence, Wong-Nowinski served as acting executive director and chief legal counsel. She resigned the last working day before Totto’s return.
In related news, Councilman Trevor Ozawa is calling for a comprehensive management and performance audit of the Ethics Commission. His resolution, Resolution 16-164, notes “recent events have strained the relationship between the commission’s executive director and staff members, commissioners and the city administration.”
Further, “the public’s trust in the commission’s ability to carry out its duties has been undermined” by recent events that were reported in the media, the resolution states.
Ozawa had scheduled a special meeting for Tuesday of the Executive Matters and Legal Affairs Committee, which he chairs, where the Ethics Commission resolution was the only agenda item.
That meeting was canceled Friday without explanation.
Marks, the Ethics Commission chairwoman, told the Star-Advertiser in an email that she intended to provide comments on the resolution at the now-aborted Tuesday meeting. She declined to provide specifics.
