Investigators for the state Campaign Spending Commission on Wednesday recommended that former state Rep. Kaniela Ing be fined another $18,250 — in addition to the nearly $22,000 that he already had been fined — for 24 campaign spending violations.
The Campaign Spending Commission voted Wednesday to defer Ing’s case to its March 13 meeting so Ing can be represented by legal counsel.
Ing represented South Maui in 2018 and was running for Congress when the commission assessed nearly $22,000 in penalties, administrative fines and restitution for 23 inaccurate reports he filed between 2011 and 2016.
In February 2023, the city Department of the Prosecuting Attorney filed a criminal complaint against Ing alleging that he “intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly failed to timely file a supplemental report with the Campaign Spending Commission” by a July 31 deadline for the period covering the first six months of 2022, thereby committing the offense of “failure to timely file (a) supplemental report with the Campaign Spending Commission.”
Ing pled no contest and received a “deferred acceptance of no contest.” He faced the possibility of a year in jail and $2,000 fine.
The misdemeanor count for his original campaign spending violations included using campaign funds to cover $2,125 in rent for residences on Oahu and Maui and $219 to make a payment on his domestic partner’s credit card account. Ing also deposited a campaign check worth $2,000 into his personal checking account but failed to document it on his campaign spending reports.
The latest 24 accusations include a possible $1,000 fine for failing to keep records and $750 for each of 23 accusations of filing
“23 false amended reports,” according to the Campaign Spending Commission, for total potential fines adding up to $18,250.
The latest allegations are related to the original case but the Prosecutor’s Office this time declined to file charges, Gary Kam, the Campaign Spending
Commission’s general
counsel, told commission members Wednesday.
Ing appeared remotely before the Campaign Spending Commission on Wednesday without his attorney, whom Ing said was
traveling.
Ing demurred when repeatedly told he could request that his case be postponed a month in order to be joined by his attorney, saying that “at some point I just thought it would end.”
Ing — the father of 4- and 7-year-old children — said he did not have the money to pay another $18,250 after spending $350 a month to pay off his original fines.
“It was brutal,” Ing said. “It was a lot of money.”
He said he has to “rent and share a car” and has had trouble finding a job.
At various points during his comments, Ing listed the emotional toll and
damage to his reputation from his original campaign spending violations and no contest plea in his criminal case.
He told the Commission that he does not plan to seek political office but offered no clear explanation of why he did not close his Campaign Spending
account.
“I tried,” he said.
Even former politicians who maintain campaign accounts are required to provide timely updates to the Campaign Spending Commission.
Ing claimed to have spent “every waking hour to correct the reports,” but often had to rely on his memory to update them.
“I don’t know how else I could have been more accurate,” he said.
As for his children, Ing said, “I’ve put them through a lot” while enduring “substantial” damage to his reputation that includes being “harassed on the street.”
“It’s extremely difficult to find work,” he said. “It’s quite traumatic whenever this keeps coming up.
My mental health is fraught.”
If the Commission votes to uphold the recommendations for a new round of fines, Ing said he will go to court to have them overturned, arguing several times that the 5-year statute of limitations had
expired.
“I’m not going to be able to afford it,” he said.
Given the on-going
series of felony convictions and guilty pleas for Hawaii politicians related to bribery and corruption, Ing said he did not understand why the allegations against him continue to be an issue.
“I’m sure there’s a better use of all of our time,” he said.
“It keeps coming up in the media,” he said at one point. “… I don’t want this to keep continuing.”
