Ethics

Hawaii's economy is booming and yet, corruption is prevalant and our taxpayer resources are regularly wasted on political favors. We need independent leaders who are willing to challenge the status quo.

We need tough ethics provisions that clearly limit the ability of public officials to engage in active campaigning at taxpayer expense. At the federal level, the Hatch Act, successfully minimized corruption by clearly defining the scope of legitimate campaigning allowed by federal officials. I believe many of the problems encountered by our local officials could be addressed if the City adopted legislation similar to the federal government's Hatch Act provisions.

As a councilmember I am proud of my record advancing the cause of ethics in our government. I have pushed for giving the ethics commission the ability to issue fines. I have been a loud advocate for cleaning up and reforming the long troubled Honolulu Liquor Commission.