Embattled Russell Yamanoha no longer with HART

A Honolulu rail agency employee who pleaded guilty last month to helping rig a union election in a previous career no longer works for the city.

But Andrew Robbins, CEO for the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation, declined to say whether information specialist Russell Yama­noha was fired or resigned voluntarily. The agency also did not provide his last day of work.

Yamanoha began with HART in 2017 and was being paid $88,248 annually by the city.

Perhaps best known as a former TV sports anchor, Yamanoha was an official with the the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1260 for a number of years.

On Sept. 3, Yamanoha pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to the misdemeanor charge of conspiring to rig a union election when he was an IBEW official in 2015. Yama­noha faces a maximum one-year prison term. Sentencing is set for December.

The union election involved an unpopular proposal to increase the dues the union collects from its members.

The government says then-IBEW Local 1260 Business Manager/Financial Secretary Brian Ahakuelo made the proposal because he needed to replenish more than $1.4 million in union money he had embezzled.

Despite the conviction, Yamanoha continued to work for HART where his duties involved public engagement and, at times, dealing with the media.

Robbins, when asked by reporters about Yamanoha’s job status several days after his plea, said, “I think we need to wait and see what the judge decides on what the sentencing is. At that time we’ll make a decision on what to do based on the sentencing.”

He added, “At this point in time he’s doing a good job at HART, and there’s no real valid reason for us to change his employment status.”

Robbins’ position drew criticism from Council Chairman Ikaika Anderson and state House Budget Chairwoman Sylvia Luke.

Jennifer Brooks, a staff attorney with the state Office of Information Practices, said that generally, a state or city agency is required to disclose whether a person is employed.

If an employee is fired, the agency would have to make that information public pending an appeal period, Brooks said. The state Uniform Information Practices Act, however, does not generally cover resignations or other voluntary separations, except under specific circumstances, she said. For instance, high public interest might be determined to outweigh the employee’s right to privacy, she said.

In other HART news, the board failed to act on two proposed change orders tied to the $9 billion rail project after Chairman Tobias Martyn declared the board did not have quorum, or the required numbers to vote on the matters.

One of them seeks to add $33.78 million more for extension of HART’s existing Lea+Elliott Core Systems Support Services contract to Sept. 10, 2022, from the current $43.99 million contract through November.

The contracted work includes project and construction management, review and approval of contract submittals, review and acceptance of designs, interface management support and manufacturing oversight and factory inspection.

“We’re going to have to get a quorum soon, I think, to get that one through because that contract is running low on funding,” Robbins said. “That’s a little bit of a concern. What we’re going to try to do is get a board meeting together in November.”

Robert Good, HART senior project officer, said an alternative would be for the board’s Executive Committee to consider a smaller addition not requiring full board approval and then returning to the full board later for the full amount.

The HART board was created by Oahu voters in 2010 with 10 members, nine of them voting. But in fall 2017, Act 1 of the state Legislature added four, nonvoting members. As a precaution, the board has considered eight votes the minimum for taking action.

On Thursday two of the nine voting members — Ford Fuchigami and Damien Kim — were absent. That left Martyn, Vice Chairman Terrance Lee and members Jade Butay, John Henry Felix, Wes Frysztacki, Glenn Nohara and Hoyt Zia.