Mayor Kim to the rescue

The jury’s acquittal of Mayor Kenoi is the result of charisma trumping justice. Sadly, the verdict ultimately will lower the standard of living on Hawaii island as we and the next generation are burdened with higher taxes resulting from Kenoi’s fiscal carelessness.

One example of this carelessness is how Kenoi has forced the destruction of a gorgeous green area in Kukuihaele that was very important to locals. This, to develop a fancy ball park that the vast majority of the community objected to. Dozens of requests from the neighborhood to work with the Department of Parks and Recreation were ignored.

The county-paid construction overtime to finish the Hilo golf course and the Ka’u gym are other examples of such recklessness. The county does not have the funding to support the existing parks let alone to push through these new ones, to the tune of tens of millions of tax dollars. I smell a pay-off, or two, or three.

Has the County Council gone AWOL on their duty to temper the excesses of the executive branch? It seems it has. For example, the council refused to provide any leadership in response to the mayor’s pCard abuse, and, in doing so, ignored their fiduciary duty. Why? Because council members were controlled by justified fears that the mayor would withhold funds for pet projects in their districts.

To make matters worse, the county’s ethics board refused to take any action regarding the mayor’s dishonesty. Was this because the board is stacked with the mayor’s appointees?

Fortunately for the people of Hawaii County, though, Mayor Kim is slated to take office in December. He might well form a new commission to look into all the charges of corruption, which would be concrete steps to clean up our county government. It is a daunting job, but Kim is the man to spray Roundup on the stubborn weeds of county corruption that pervade every nook and cranny of our local government.

Gwen Ilaban

Kailua-Kona