Although the Hawaii County Board of Ethics last month cleared Mayor Billy Kenoi of wrongdoing in the hiring of his campaign manager to a top-paying government position, documents obtained by West Hawaii Today raise questions about his role.
The Board of Ethics on July 8 dismissed a complaint against Kenoi and then campaign manager Kimo Alameda, after receiving assurances from the county Human Resources Department that Kenoi wasn’t involved in Alameda’s appointment as executive of the Office of Aging, and that Alameda had the requisite two years supervisory experience.
Kenoi closed his campaign account on June 23, after the complaint was filed, according to state records.
After some back-and-forth with HR officials, the board dismissed the complaint. A more formal dismissal letter is customarily voted on at the board’s next meeting, in this case, Sept. 9.
“So it’s your testimony that the mayor had nothing to do with this at all?” board member Ken Goodenow asked HR Director Sharon Toriano, according to an audio recording of the meeting provided by Ethics staff.
“Up until just telling me please handle this,” Toriano replied.
But the “Request to Fill Form” obtained by the newspaper through the state’s Uniform Information Practices Act shows Kenoi’s distinctive signature, dated March 11, recommending Alameda be hired.
Kenoi’s recommendation of Alameda as the applicant with the highest interview score was sent to the Staffing Review Committee, an entity selected by Human Resources to interview and rank the candidates who were screened by the HR Department. A Staffing Review Committee representative whose signature is indecipherable signed off after Kenoi the same day.
The job was advertised for 10 days, 22 people applied and six were interviewed, Toriano said.
The Request to Fill Form shows that the county began considering a replacement for former Aging Administrator Alan Parker on June 12, 2014, because of his pending retirement on Dec. 31.
The ethics complaint, filed by Kapaau resident Lanric Hyland, charged political favoritism in the hiring process that ended with Alameda being hired at the top of the salary range. The $110,000-plus position oversees a department of 12 employees.
When told about the new information Monday, Hyland said he wasn’t surprised.
“It’s apparent from the way they dealt with the mayor’s pCard case that they simply refuse to touch the mayor at all,” Hyland said, referring to an ongoing ethics and attorney general case involving the mayor’s use of his county purchasing card for personal purchases.
Kenoi didn’t see the document as significant.
“As I stated previously, HR posts the opening and receives the applications, they screen the applications for qualified applicants, then HR selects a panel to interview and rank the applicants and a recommendation to hire is forwarded to me to sign off on,” Kenoi said.
On the requirement that the Office of Aging position required a minimum of two years of supervisory experience, Recruitment and Examination Division Head Gabriella Cabanas told the Ethics Board that Alameda said he had supervised four employees in his job with the state Department of Health in 2001.
According to his resume, Alameda worked from 2001-04 as a transition and behavioral specialist for the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division. Christina Donkovoet, listed as Alameda’s supervisor, told the newspaper last week that she doesn’t remember if Alameda supervised employees in that position.
The Office of Aging, unlike departments set by the county charter, does not require County Council confirmation of its director. But most council members, when reviewing the program budget on April 23, praised Alameda for the office.
The position requires at minimum a bachelor’s degree in social work, sociology, psychology, gerontology, counseling, public health or related field, according to documents obtained by the newspaper.
Alameda holds a master’s degree from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and a doctorate in educational, psychological and cultural studies from the University of Nebraska.
Documents show the salary range for the position is $63,228 to $110,988, but Alameda was hired at the top of the range.