Nae'ole vs. Hale
Councilwoman faces ethics board

By Hunter Bishop

Councilwoman Emily Naeole (Dist. 5, Puna Makai) won her seat last fall in surprising manner with a grassroots campaign and a catchy slogan: "Guilty of Aloha First."
Now, after six months in office, the political neophyte finds herself facing ethics charges stemming from a nasty dispute with her campaign co-chair, who was later named her key legislative aide.
Barbara Jean Hale (pronounced HA-lay), a veteran legislative staffer, has publicly accused her boss of everything from illiteracy to improperly soliciting donations from her Council office. The feud had been playing out for weeks on a local Internet blog but came to a head June 13 when the Ethics Board took the County Corporation Counsel Lincoln Ashida's advice and launched an investigation into Hale's public allegations. Ashida confirmed that neither Naole nor Hale initiated the process.
The day before the meeting, Hale's attorney, Steven Strauss, sent the Ethics Board a rambling, single-spaced, three-and-a-half page verbatim transcript to supplement his client's complaints, including one of "mistreatment" because Hale wouldn't pray on the job with the devoutly religious Naeole.
Naeole's attorney, Gerard Lee Loy, responded by revealing Hale's 23-year-old felony convictions for theft and a misdemeanor count of falsifying a business record on Maui in 1983-84 under the name Barbara Jean Barcena. Lee Loy told the board that the record "speaks to her honesty."
Neither Strauss nor Hale attended the Ethics Board meeting because Strauss was on the mainland, but Strauss has said Hale intends to cooperate fully with the investigation. The Ethics Board hearing set for July 11.
While the Ethics Board has no punishment power, the hearing could be the tip of the iceberg for Naeole if there is truth to what her antagonist alleges.
The Ethics Board officially narrowed the scope of its investigation to whether Naeole solicited campaign donations through her office, and whether she had her staff conduct personal business for her on county time. Agencies such as the state Campaign Spending Commission could get involved, along with the state Attorney General or the County Prosecutor, if evidence of criminal conduct is uncovered.
In 2002, Honolulu Councilwoman Rene Mansho went to jail for a year on theft and forgery charges after a disgruntled aide blew the whistle on misconduct similar to allegations Hale makes against Naeole.
Strauss has already raised the issue of whistleblower status to protect his client from retaliation for making public allegations of wrongdoing against her boss. According to Hale's written statement, Naeole's administrative aide Gwen Kupahu was "always privileged to do many things, leave the office early, because she was doing errands for Emily including picking up or meeting the son to take him between school and movies."
In one instance, Naeole's own brand of official aloha could be her undoing. According to Hale, Naeole ordered her to give $5,000 from Naeole's discretionary funds account to a Laupahoehoe non-profit organization, Malama Hawaii Nei, because Naeole felt bad about not selling fundraising tickets she was given by the organization. Later Naeole successfully solicited food donations from MHN for a community event in Puna that Naeole had planned.
Naeole also supported a Maui developer who wanted a zone change to build a self-storage facility in Pahoa over the objections of the county administration, the Main Street Pahoa Association, and volunteers on the Puna Community Development Plan committee. Naeole said "her people" supported the rezoning but they never turned out. Now Hale alleges that she had to fend off the Maui developer's offers of inter-island trips, parties and cash that Naeole was eager to accept.
Naeole denies wrongdoing but has yet to addressed specifics of Hale's allegations. Privately, those close to her say she may have made mistakes but they were minor, and ultimately she will survive the Ethics Board's scrutiny.
Meanwhile, many in Naeole's district worry that important business is not getting done. Naeole said she has secured $400,000 in the county budget for the development of a new park in Pahoa, and $200,000 to add lights at the Pahoa swimming pool, but few successful public initiatives and no legislation have come out of her office in the first six months.
Hale, 60, has said she's in the fight for her job because she cannot afford to lose it. "I may have to sue," she said in May when Naeole considered firing her. She is currently on paid administrative leave while Naeole's office is supported with help from other Council members' staff.
Publicly, Naeole takes a high road, refusing to discuss the allegations against her, focusing only on the "positive" things that helped get her elected. But whether in the end she's guilty of "Aloha First," or something else entirely, remains to be determined.
Journalist Hunter Bishop writes about Puna issues online at hunterbishop.com.

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