State GOP calls for Kim to face ethics inquiry

The Hawaii Republican Party on Wednesday urged the state Ethics Commission to investigate whether state Senate President Donna Mercado Kim violated the ethics code when she called the University of Hawaii president last spring about her son’s law school application.

UH President M.R.C. Greenwood said this week that an angry Kim had warned Greenwood might be called before the Legislature to answer questions if she did not respond to the inquiry. Greenwood subsequently told Kim that the senator’s son — who has since been admitted to UH law school — had not applied last year.

Kim has denied she was angry or threatened any Senate investigation.

"These allegations of misconduct are very serious and must be investigated," the Hawaii Republican Party said in a statement. "If substantiated, Senator Mercado Kim must be held accountable for violating her public trust. The citizens of Hawaii are entitled to integrity, transparency, and ethical conduct from all of our public servants, especially our leaders."

Nacia Lee Blom, the state GOP’s executive director, said the party wants the Ethics Commission to investigate Kim. She also said the party is discussing whether to file an ethics charge against Kim with the Ethics Commission to prompt a formal review.

At the time of Kim’s call to Greenwood last spring, Kim was the Senate’s vice president and chairwoman of the Senate Tourism Committee. She was also the chairwoman of the Senate Special Committee on Accountability, which was investigating salary and wage overpayments to state workers. The committee would later investigate UH’s handling of a botched Stevie Wonder concert.

Kim became Senate president in December after Shan Tsutsui was appointed lieutenant governor.

Kim repeated on Wednesday that she was acting as a mother when she called Greenwood about her son. She said the inquiry was after the law school’s deadline for applications and the announcement of admissions, so she was only checking to see if her son had applied, not trying to influence whether he would be admitted. She also said she called the university president from a private telephone, not her Senate office phone.

"I’m a mother," Kim said, adding that her title as senator should not preclude her from making inquiries about her son or other matters. "If I called the (law school) dean, that would have been OK? No? I mean, who could I have called, nobody?"

The ethics code prohibits lawmakers from using or attempting to use their official position to secure unwarranted privileges for themselves or others, which would likely be the provision of the law the Ethics Commission would review in Kim’s outreach to Greenwood.

Leslie Kondo, the executive director of the Ethics Commission, said any citizen can file an ethics charge or ask that the commission investigate a potential violation of the ethics code. The commission’s staff can also choose to initiate a review and approach the Ethics Commission about an investigation.