A Senate committee recommended Wednesday approving Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s controversial nominee to run the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands even though the nominee’s former deputy said she was fired in December for not accepting a position in another department that was to be paid for using DHHL money.
Michelle Kauhane told members of the Senate Committee on Tourism and Hawaiian Affairs that Bruce Coppa, the governor’s chief of staff, made the offer.
She also said Attorney General David Louie mentioned an investigation "that revealed that I had expressed an opinion not in line with me continuing" as the deputy, and that it would become "less manifest" if she accepted the $85,000-a-year position to be deputy to the governor’s homeless coordinator.
She said she construed that as an attempt to intimidate her.
The revelation came during a two-hour-plus confirmation hearing for Jobie Masagatani, Abercrombie’s choice to lead DHHL, and prompted Sen. Clayton Hee (D, Heeia-Laie-Waialua), a member of the committee, to say, "That’s pretty hard-hitting testimony."
Yet before the committee voted 5-0 to recommend that Masagatani’s nomination be approved by the full Senate, no one on the committee asked Masagatani a single question about the allegations.
Their vote largely reflected written testimony that was overwhelmingly supportive of Abercrombie’s choice. More than 800 people wrote to the committee in support of Masagatani, while 13 voiced opposition, according to Sen. Brickwood Galuteria (D, Kakaako-McCully-Waikiki), the panel’s chairman.
In an interview with the Star-Advertiser, Kauhane said she was stunned by the job offer in December because DHHL money cannot be used in that manner.
"It was a blatant misuse of trust funds to make me go away," she said.
Three days after she rejected the offer, Kauhane said, she was dismissed by Masagatani, who told her that her services no longer were needed.
Kauhane told the Senate committee that Coppa informed her that Masagatani was aware of the offer to use DHHL money to fund the position in another state agency. She said she was shocked that the DHHL interim director would agree to it.
Masagatani, after the hearing, would not address Kauhane’s allegations, saying they involved a personnel matter. She did say, however, that DHHL has an unfilled position that focuses on addressing the homeless problem among Native Hawaiians.
But Kauhane said the offer made by Coppa was to move to another state agency.
Asked what Louie meant by saying the AG investigation would become "less manifest" if she accepted the job, Kauhane told the Star-Advertiser she interpreted it as a way for the administration to bully and intimidate her into leaving DHHL.
An Abercrombie spokeswoman would not comment, saying it would not be appropriate to discuss a personnel matter.
Louie could not be reached for comment.
After the hearing, Hee told the Star-Advertiser that using DHHL money to pay for a position in another agency would not be OK. But he said he didn’t ask about Kauhane’s allegations because, among other things, the hearing was going long and he wasn’t precluded from asking about it later.
While written testimony received by the committee overwhelmingly supported Masagatani’s nomination, Hee noted that several DHHL commissioners appointed by Abercrombie took the unusual step of speaking in opposition of the governor’s nominee.
Masagatani, who also is the interim chairwoman of the Hawaiian Homes Commission, acknowledged to the committee that she faces a daunting task in leading DHHL but believes she’s up to the task. She admitted making some mistakes in her first eight months in office — Abercrombie appointed her in May — and even thanked those who spoke against her confirmation. "That helps us as an agency to (focus) on things we need to work on," she told senators.
Abercrombie was the first to offer testimony at Wednesday’s hearing. He told the senators that Masagatani’s character, experience and dedication to Native Hawaiians "speak for itself" and that she was the right person to lead the agency amid the many challenges it faces. "I have complete confidence in her," Abercrombie said.
Following many others who indicated their support for Masagatani, the committee heard from those opposing her nomination, including two of four commissioners on the nine-member board.
They said her tenure so far has been marked by actions that have been divisive and not in the best interests of beneficiaries.
Kali Watson, a former DHHL chairman, said Masagatani did an excellent job as his deputy for four years but questioned whether she has the skills to be an effective leader.
"I say this with a heavy heart because Jobie is a good person," Watson said.
But others who subsequently spoke in support, including Gene Ross Davis, a DHHL commissioner, applauded Masagatani as a strong leader.
"She is what this department truly needs," Davis told the committee.
Before the hearing, Kauhane told the Star-Advertiser that the attorney general’s investigation turned up an internal email in which she discussed the need by staff to develop a policy recommendation to the board regarding how to handle questions on blood quantum for beneficiaries.
Beneficiaries must be at least 50 percent Hawaiian.
But cases were arising in which the original certification of 50 percent was deemed inaccurate, and Kauhane said her email indicated that the department should stop doing recertifications until a policy was adopted.
After the hearing, Masagatani said she appreciated the vote of confidence by the senators and looked forward to moving the work of the department forward.
It is not known when the full Senate will vote on her confirmation.
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Correction: A previous version of this story said "no one on the committee asked Kauhane a single question about the allegations." It should have said "Masagatani."
