Les Kondo will remain in his post as executive director of the state Ethics Commission after a job performance evaluation resulted in no action taken against him stemming from recent criticism that his office has overstepped its bounds in enforcing ethics rules.

After 31⁄2 hours behind closed doors in executive session Wednesday, the five-member commission emerged to announce only that it had completed its evaluation and further evaluations would be conducted in the future.

Commission Chairman Edward Broglio declined specific comment on the private session, citing the confidentiality of personnel matters. 

“We finished the evaluation at this time and there will be future evaluations on ongoing performance issues as they evolve,” Broglio said afterward. “We concluded the evaluation process and Mr. Kondo is the executive director and will continue to be so.”

Kondo, who took over the job in January 2011, declined to comment.

The executive director has rankled some public officials with his interpretation of the state Ethics Code.

Most recently, he had enforced prohibitions against state employees accepting free golf outings and other gifts. Educators also were told they could not accept free travel from tour companies on educational trips for students, and lawmakers were barred from accepting free tickets from lobbyists to attend charitable fundraisers.

In an April 27 letter to commissioners, House Speaker Joe Souki criticized the commission staff for “rewriting the Ethics Code” by prohibiting once-common practices such as fundraising at the Legislature and other state venues, and the receipt of gifts and meals.

The commission most recently had rated Kondo “average” overall, down from “outstanding” in 2012.

Kondo defended himself against critics at a commission meeting last month and was backed by leaders of other agencies who called him a dedicated professional who excels in a tough job.

But others, including state schools Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi, expressed concern that Kondo and his staff had taken a “contentious tone" when making inquiries at schools.

There have been some signs of friction between Kondo and a couple of commissioners, who prefer a more collaborative and less hard-line approach. In a few instances, the commission has declined to pursue Kondo’s recommendations, including a proposal that Aloha United Way change the way it solicits contributions from government employees.