Issue Position: Ethics

Issue Position

When people have trust in their elected officials, they have trust in their government. I believe that the personal integrity of elected officials is fundamental to our democracy. All major public policy goals start with an open and honest government. After the series of scandals that tarnished the Honolulu Liquor Commission, I called for the wholesale reform and improved oversight of the Commission. When several Liquor Commission inspectors were convicted of bribery charges, I successfully obtained an audit of the Liquor Commission and called for the firing of the Liquor Commission Administrator and Chief Investigator. After months of intense work, my efforts helped secure the Liquor Commission Administrator's removal and the voluntary departure of the Chief Investigator. Today this agency is rebuilding the trust that it lost. I also successfully fought to give the Ethics Commission the power to issue civil fines for violations of the ethics code and championed stronger ethics rules that have reduced conflicts of interest in Honolulu. These reforms that I instituted led to the sanctioning and eventual prosecution of a councilmember for misconduct.

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