KOHALA COAST — Big Island Mayor Billy Kenoi gave the keynote speech at the fifth annual LEI program at the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel on Friday.
LEI — which stands for leadership, exploration and inspiration — is put on by ClimbHI in partnership with Hawaii County and the Big Island Visitors Bureau and is sponsored by the Hawaii Tourism Authority with the goal of exposing high school students to potential careers in the local visitor industry.
But several students who attended the leadership forum, as well as those who organized it, said they didn’t think the embattled mayor’s legal troubles ran counter to the message the forum intended to deliver.
“I thought it was really touching,” Dawstin Hoopai, a student at Kohala High School, said of Kenoi’s speech, which headlined the more than two-hour opening banquet. “Even though he is in trouble, what he said is true. You can’t take him wrong for what he said.”
Kenoi is facing two counts of second-degree theft, two counts of third-degree theft, three counts of tampering with a government record and one count of making a false statement under oath after being indicted by a Hilo grand jury March 23. Second degree theft, the most serious charge, is a Class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The charges stem from his alleged misuse of a county purchasing card, or pCard.
The term-limited Kenoi is wrapping up his eighth year as the county’s chief executive. He spent $120,000 on his card by 2015, including $892 at hostess bar Club Evergreen, $1,219.69 for a surfboard, a $700 tab at a Hilo karaoke bar as well as $400 at another Honolulu hostess bar, the Camelot Restaurant and Lounge.
Kenoi has said through his attorney he won’t step away from his post but will fight the charges.
President of ClimbHI Julie Morikowa said the conference, which this year will serve 800 students across four Hawaiian islands, left the decision up to Kenoi as to whether he would honor his commitment to speak to the students.
“It was not really a concern,” Morikowa said of Kenoi’s presence at the event in light of his recent legal troubles. “The program is bigger than all of us, and it is bigger than any individual. This really would not be possible without the county. There really was not a consideration on what he has done in his past.”
LEI is the largest workforce development program on the Big Island, according to a ClimbHI press release.
The opening banquet kicked off the overnight event for the pupils, and an animated and energetic Kenoi surprised 40 students in an eighth floor banquet hall at the hotel, speaking for nearly 30 minutes.
His message didn’t mention the legal issues, but centered around perseverance.
“Sometimes you fall down, sometimes you get hurt,” Kenoi said. “You can not cry. You just got to get up. You got to dust yourself off. You got to keep going. Then you are going to trip again. It is OK. Just get up again, dust yourself off and keep going.”
Kenoi showed up 15 minutes late to the banquet and left a few minutes after his speech concluded. He declined to answer questions from the media before departing.
Although the students were unable to speak with the mayor one-on-one, several commented that his message was the most powerful of the day.
Shyla Nobriga, a sophomore at Lapahoehoe High School, said the mayor’s appearance didn’t seem out of place at all.
“It was just a surprise,” Nobriga said. “I didn’t think it was strange or anything. But he gave a great speech.”
Anona Napoleola, a junior at Honakaa High, who has aspirations of one day becoming a chef, agreed.
“Listening to Billy Kenoi talk about dreams was my favorite part,” she said.