With the Hawaii Supreme Court scheduled to hear oral arguments today on the legal challenge contesting Trevor Ozawa’s 22-vote Election Day victory over Tommy Waters, the eight certified members of the Honolulu City Council on Monday elected Ann Kobayashi as their interim chairwoman and took other steps to resume Council business despite being one person short.
In related news, Kobayashi sent a letter Monday morning to Corporation Counsel Donna Leong questioning whether her attorneys could be impartial in representing the city clerk’s office at today’s hearing. Mayor Kirk Caldwell on Monday afternoon announced Leong was going on paid leave at the end of the day after receiving a target letter from the Department of Justice on an unrelated matter.
Council members started their meeting Monday without a leadership structure, 2019 meeting calendar or committee assignments. By the time they adjourned less than a half-hour later, they had all three matters resolved — if only on an interim basis.
In a short address, Kobayashi urged her colleagues to work cooperatively during a trying period. “We only have eight members now, and we’re going to have to work together and keep a unified Council,” she said.
Ozawa had been expected to win the chairman’s post when the Council met Jan. 2, the first meeting of the year. But Ozawa was not allowed to be certified, and therefore unable to take his seat that day, throwing the Council into turmoil.
Under the interim period placing Kobayashi as chairwoman, Ron Menor will serve as vice chairman and Carol Fukunaga as floor leader.
Kobayashi previously declined to become chairwoman but said she agreed to do so now out of necessity. The key committee assignment change made by Kobayashi involves Joey Manahan being selected to lead the powerful Budget Committee. Ozawa had succeeded Manahan as budget chairman last spring after a Council leadership reorganization.
Councilman Brandon Elefante is chairing a newly combined Public Safety, Welfare and Transportation Committee. Manahan has been chairman of the Transportation Committee.
Newly elected Councilwoman Heidi Tsuneyoshi, who won the Council District 2 (Mililani to Kahaluu) seat after her mentor Ernie Martin “termed out,” is heading a newly combined Parks, Community Service and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee. Kobayashi had been parks chairwoman.
The Waters challenge is being heard by justices today, and the Department of Corporation Counsel, which is tasked with representing both the mayor and the Council, will be arguing on behalf of the city clerk’s office, which is being questioned on its absentee ballot collection procedures.
But on Monday, Kobayashi sent a letter to Leong suggesting that city attorneys may have raised an appearance of a potential conflict of interest when Deputy Corporation Counsel Ernest Nomura recently referred a reporter — seeking comment about the case — to the mayor’s office.
Nomura is leading the city’s defense of the clerk’s office.
“In my view, this is a serious conflict of interest, and the mayor’s office must not be involved in any way in defending the city’s position in the appeal,” Kobayashi said. She suggested Leong’s office should have considered obtaining outside counsel to represent the city clerk.
Kobayashi noted in the letter that Caldwell, who appointed Leong, had publicly supported Waters over Ozawa, among the mayor’s staunchest critics. “How can your office vigorously defend the city clerk’s practices and procedures when the mayor himself would like to see that Mr. Waters be declared the winner?”
Leong, in a response to Kobayashi, said Nomura was reminded that media inquiries to city attorneys should be referred to her. “I regret Mr. Nomura’s referral to the mayor’s office and understand your concern of the appearance of a conflict of interest in having the mayor’s office involved.”
She said the reporter’s inquiry should have been referred to City Clerk Glen Takahashi.
Leong stressed that her department “will continue to vigorously defend the city clerk’s practices and procedures.”
