Lawyer tells commission about many complaints over trustee

A former Office of Hawaiian Affairs attorney testified Wednesday that at one time there were so many employee harassment and abuse complaints against Trustee Rowena Akana, officials were worried about a cascade of lawsuits.

OHA Corporation Counsel Ernest Kimoto told the commission that more than 20 complaints from different employees were filed with human resources, prompting the OHA brass to discuss the need to document the issue.

“Our concern for each and every complaint was a potential hostile work environment lawsuit,” he said.

What’s more, “if they all went to the Civil Rights Commission at the same time, we would have a real problem and mess on our hands,” he said.

The 28-year trustee faces a fine of at least $50,000 after being accused of 50 counts of violating the Hawaii State Ethics Code, including infractions of the state’s Gifts Law, Gifts Reporting Law and Fair Treatment Law.

Akana is accused of improperly accepting thousands in dollars for legal fees and using her trustee allowance to buy home cable television services and an Apple iTunes gift card.

Kimoto, who retired at the end of 2016, said Akana’s combative behavior caused some OHA employees to suffer health problems and others to leave their jobs — although he did not name individuals.

When asked about his own clash with the trustee, Akana’s attorney, Stephen Tannenbaum, objected.

“This is not a lynch mob that should go after Trustee Akana for every and any potential complaint that was ever issued against her while she was a trustee,” he said.

The objection was upheld by commission Chairman Rey Graulty.

In putting on his case, Ethics Commission Executive Director Daniel Gluck has attempted to establish a pattern of hostile behavior buttressing the allegations of ethics violations.

Earlier in the day, former OHA Controller John Kim testified to aggressive behavior by Akana, and present and former employees on Monday described intimidation, harassment and retaliation.