HONOLULU (AP) - The Hawaii Legislature is planning to vote to appoint a new state auditor, in a move that would direct the attention of an official who’s viewed as a strict government watchdog from the Legislature to the executive branch.
The House and Senate announced Friday they’ll vote to appoint an auditor, ombudsman and director of the Legislative Reference Bureau in a joint session next week.
Legislative leaders nominated Les Kondo - who now serves as head of the state Ethics Commission - to be the new state auditor. As executive director of the Ethics Commission, Kondo had been criticized by House Speaker Joseph Souki for his rules reining in gifts to lawmakers. If Kondo takes over as auditor he’d be a watchdog over agencies in the executive branch, providing reports to the Legislature, instead of writing rules that impact lawmakers.
“The good government explanation is that even though they have had some disagreements with him, they like the fact that he’s a bulldog and he knows how to investigate,” said Neil Milner, a political columnist. “The more skeptical or the more cynical interpretation is that they’re getting him out of their hair…Maybe it’s a mixture of both.”
Souki told reporters Friday that Kondo was primarily selected by Senate President Ronald Kouchi, and that Souki had agreed to Kouchi’s recommendation.
Kouchi said he never had any complaint about Kondo, and that he has confidence in Kondo’s ability to do the job.
“No one will question his integrity,” Kouchi said. “No one will question his passion to get to the truth.”
Last year, Souki had written a letter to the commission complaining about what he called “controversial directives or recommendations,” including a rule that bars lawmakers from accepting gift baskets or meals that have relatively substantial value.
The idea that appointing Kondo as auditor would shift Kondo’s attention from the legislative to the executive branch wasn’t a consideration, Souki said.
“I’ve met with him a few times, even prior to this appointment, and I think we’ve reached an understanding…That’s all in the past,” Souki said.
Jan Yamane, who has been serving as acting auditor for three years, said she had no comment on the Legislature’s announcement.
The Legislature also is considering re-appointing Robin Matsunaga as ombudsman and appointing Charlotte Carter-Yamauchi as director of the Legislative Reference Bureau, where she has served as acting director since 2010. The vote on all three potential appointments is scheduled for April 22.
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