UH effort to honor Inouye seems shamelessly ironic

First there was the naming phase, in which the state rushed to attach Daniel K. Inouye’s name to structures across the Islands.

That was succeeded by the creating stage, calling for a $250,000 statue of Hawaii’s former senior senator.

We are now in the memorial monument stage, where honor to our most powerful politician will cost between $16 million and $20 million for a big building on the University of Hawaii’s Manoa campus.

As Appropriations Committee chairman, Inouye held an important post in the U.S. Senate when he died last December. His longevity in the Senate, the second-longest record of service in the Senate’s history, gave Inouye an insider’s perspective on more than half a century of national politics, so his reflections, notes and archives are important for history. He was present at the creation of much of what makes America today.

The instructions for the planning of the Inouye Center, however, sounds more like something for Forrest Gump than an important American political leader.

In a letter written to potential consultants, Vassilis Syrmos, associate vice chancellor for research, wrote: "The design goals for this project are to develop a state-of-the-art facility that expresses Sen. Inouye’s warm, gracious and unassuming persona; with an overarching goal of achieving national recognition for design excellence."

Of course, the irony of the rush to stamp things DKI is that the senator personally discouraged naming things for him. He explained to me during a Washington interview that unlike the late Sens. Robert Byrd and Ted Stevens, he made a conscious effort not to be given the honor, so that other politicians would not be able to use it as leverage. I hope the center includes something about Inouye being one of the shrewdest political poker players in Washington.

Perhaps the prize for most tone deaf and inept political poker players goes to the regents of University of Hawaii, who consistently come out of one closed-door meeting after another marveling at their dedication to openness and transparency.

Star-Advertiser report Rob Perez wrote Sunday that: "The project appeared on the regents’ agenda for the first time last month. But the public was barred from those talks, held in executive session."

In April of this year, the regents reported that they "were looking to enhance their transparency." This was part of a $266,000 paid to private consultants reviewing the aftermath of the phony Stevie Wonder concert that cost the UH $200,000.

Back in December, the same regents said in response to a state Senate report critical of UH openness that they "agree with its recommendations calling for greater transparency and accountability."

The Inouye Center was pushed out for consultant work only days before a new state law went into effect that takes away the UH’s power to unilaterally conduct procurement for construction, engineering and design work.

The Legislature took the UH out of the procurement game because of repeated allegations of favoritism by UH, which the university denied.

The UH is also at an apparent moment of confusion over exactly how the $16-$20 million for the Inouye Center will arrive.

The UH alternatively says that the design contract will not require a state appropriation because it will be paid for by "private funding and a UH research training account that predominantly gets dollars from federal sources."

And then the UH says when it is ready to starting building the center, it will go through the regents’ review for a funding request to go to the Legislature.

Those hoping for the DKI Center should note that earlier this year, the Legislature rejected the No. 1 item on the UH funding list: the $38 million needed to build the pharmacy school in Hilo, named the University of Hawaii at Hilo Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy.

———

Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach him at rborreca@staradvertiser.com.