There’s a popular fiddle tune at Texas dances called “Cotton- Eyed Joe” in which dancers periodically during the song shout, “BULLS—T!”
I don’t understand Texans or why they do this, but their shoutout raced to mind when I read state Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole’s explanation of how $1,264 owed to his campaign fund came to be deposited into his personal bank account.
The Kaneohe Democrat admitted to state Ethics Commission findings that he paid legislative travel and food expenses from his campaign fund, then when he was reimbursed for the expenses by the Senate, deposited the money in his personal bank account instead of repaying his campaign fund.
The Ethics Commission required him to reimburse the $1,264 and pay a $1,500 fine.
Keohokalole, a lawyer, portrayed it as an innocent mistake “that could have been easily avoided” and left him embarrassed.
But his personal copping of official funds wasn’t a one-time mistake, the commission emphasized.
“The commission is troubled by the fact that … Keohokalole’s mishandling of legislative allowance funds occurred not once, but on three separate occasions,” the report said. “The commission views these actions as an egregious violation of trust.”
It’s not small money at stake. Keohokalole had $73,831.37 in his campaign account as of Dec. 31, and it has likely ballooned with the start of the Legislature and the approaching election. Other lawmakers have hundreds of thousands more, which can be accessed with debit cards.
Legislators get $7,500 annual expense allowances, plus reimbursement of approved travel.
When they mix campaign funds with legislative allowances, the double-dipping can become like a shell game that rakes official funds into personal accounts.
The state Ethics Commission and Campaign Spending Commission work diligently, but with limited staffing there’s only so much ground they can cover, and those caught often get off with an “oops, sorry” and a fine.
Despite the potential political vulnerability this causes Keohokalole, nobody had pulled papers to run against him as of Thursday.
Infractions that start small can become big cases:
>> Former Council member Rene Mansho served a year in prison after pleading guilty to felony theft for misusing city and campaign funds.
>> Former state Rep. and Councilman Romy Cachola was fined $50,000 for using campaign funds to buy and run an SUV mostly for personal use and then claiming a $250 monthly city auto allowance for use of the vehicle.
>> Former legislator and Councilman Rod Tam spent two nights in jail for misusing city money and putting campaign funds to personal use.
>> Former Rep. Kaniela Ing was fined $15,000 by the Campaign Spending Commission for filing false reports, using campaign funds to cover some $2,300 in personal expenses and depositing a $2,000 campaign check into his personal account.
As legislative leaders seek ways to restore trust after the bribery convictions of Sen. J. Kalani English and Rep. Ty Cullen, tighter controls on the mixing of campaign funds, legislative allowances and personal accounts should be high on the list.
Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com.
