Proposal to put OHA chief Crabbe on paid leave fails

A proposal to put Office of Hawaiian Affairs CEO Kamana‘opono Crabbe on paid leave while the Board of Trustees works on a deal to buy out his employment contract failed Thursday.

Chairwoman Rowena Akana emerged from a closed-door trustees’ meeting to say that her idea was tabled with only Keli‘i Akina, Carmen Hulu Lindsey and herself supporting paid leave.

“They refuse to take action against this administrator,” Akana declared.

A narrow board majority, led by Akana, voted Jan. 8 to enter negotiations to buy out Crabbe’s three-year, $150,000-a-year contract. But the ultimate fate of Crabbe is far from certain because six votes are needed to remove the chief executive officer.

Thursday’s closed session ended relatively quickly for the nine-member board after it lost its quorum.

Akana said the board minority refuses to budge even though she has obtained documentation of misconduct that implicates Crabbe.

She said the documents, some secretly passed to her by OHA employees, indicate Crabbe’s lieutenants hacked into the trustee server and published online some confidential legal documents and falsified records. One falsehood, she said, accuses her of using her trustee allowance to pay for Botox treatments.

Akana added that she might have to sue the trustees to stop the “malfeasance” and “corruption” they continue to allow at OHA.

Prior to Thursday’s closed session, the trustees were scolded for about 2-1/2 hours by two dozen beneficiaries, some of whom said they were embarrassed by the board’s recent actions, others who urged members to clean house and still others who called for trustees to enter a formal process of reconciliation and forgiveness.

“It’s time to move forward, stop bickering and act your age,” Healani Sonoda-Pale told the trustees.

Pohai Ryan said OHA’s credibility is suffering.

“It’s not only embarrassing, it’s wrong,” she said.

Some spoke up for Crabbe, while others offered support for Akana. There were also accusations of corruption and mismanagement. Bumpy Kanahele and Mililani Trask said the FBI should be called.

Others endorsed the forensic audit Akana is proposing. Forensic audits could lead to criminal prosecution if anything illegal is uncovered.

But Kau‘i Pratt-Aquino presented a 752-signature online petition that calls for the ouster of Akana. She said Akana’s attack on Crabbe is based on a personal vendetta rather than job performance.

After the meeting, Crabbe issued this statement:

“We at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs are committed to transparency and accountability. We look forward to addressing and clarifying the numerous inaccurate things said at today’s board meeting. I take my duties as the sole employee of our board seriously, and I implement the decisions made by the board.”

On the forensic audit, Crabbe said, “As a state agency, we follow all applicable state procurement laws. In addition, each year, we undergo a financial and compliance audit, conducted by an outside public accounting firm. To date, OHA has received unqualified, or clean, opinions for all years. We are also complying and working with the State Auditor’s Office as it continues with its current audit of OHA, which occurs every four years as required by law.”