An unhappy reader spotted photos of UH football mascot Vili the Warrior carousing with Duke Aiona, GOP candidate for governor, during the 4th of July parade in Kailua. This was a Twitpic photo posted by Aiona’s campaign. There’s also a YouTube video of the same scene.
How in the WORLD was Vili the Warrior allowed to be a part of Aiona’s Kailua Parade festivities yesterday? There are pictures like the one above all over Facebook now. I haven’t even checked Duke’s or the Rs website yet – but thats just a matter of time.
He’s a UH employee, dressed in his role that UH pays him to be, representing UH AND endorsing/supporting Aiona?
Did he check with any of his superiors to see if this was ok with UH?
In my book, no way is this OK for this man to be literally parading around as Vili the Warrior for any of the candidates, not just Aiona.
At the least, he should be reprimanded, big time.
Just wrong.
I agree that the political implications are troubling, but the situation is not that simple.
Although state ethics laws would bar use of the state seal or other state-controlled brands for political purposes, and “Vili the Warrior” is closely associated with UH football, the image apparently does not belong to the state or the university.
Although “Vili the Warrior” is described as the UH team mascot, he is not a state employee and the image of the warrior is not owned or controlled by UH. Rather, Vili Fehoko is apparently contracted for specific appearances at UH events.
The warrior character is owned by a for-profit company owned by Vili Fehoko and his wife, Linda, according to state business registration records.
MASTER NAME VILI THE WARRIOR INC.
BUSINESS TYPE Domestic Profit Corporation
FILE NUMBER 221691 D1
STATUS 1
PLACE INCORPORATED Hawaii UNITED STATES
REGISTRATION DATE Feb 1, 2008
MAILING ADDRESS 926 KOPKE ST HONOLULU, Hawaii 96819 UNITED STATES
TERM PER
AGENT NAME LINDA FEHOKO
AGENT ADDRESS 1594 PUOLANI ST HONOLULU, Hawaii 96819 UNITED STATES
Vili’s aggressive behavior became an issue in 2003-2004 when complaints were received following several football games.
According to a January 2004 story by Rob Perez:
Some fans blasted what they called his crude or distasteful gestures, such as the time he grabbed the trunk of the University of Alabama’s elephant mascot, stuck the trunk near Fehoko’s rear end and started trotting away, dragging the elephant for a few seconds.
Fehoko clearly has been a huge supporter of UH football, Sadler said, but it is also clear some changes are needed with the mascot program. Performing distasteful acts and telling opponents they are unwelcome, for instance, cannot be tolerated, he added.
Sadler apologized on the university’s behalf to anyone offended by Fehoko’s actions and said the university over the next few weeks will reassess the overall mascot program.
Perez also reported:
There are no behavior guidelines in the contract, but it states that UH is free to end the agreement when such action is in the school’s interests.
The contract in force at that time expired in 2005, and apparently has been replaced by a new agreement. I have not found any public information about the current contract or its terms.
In 2004, Fehoko filed a lawsuit against the Polynesian Cultural Center, where he was formerly employed, charging that he was a victim of discrimination as a Tongan, according to a PBN story about the case.
PCC defended its action, saying that “Fehoko was terminated over an “incident involving a guest who was assaulted and threatened.”
The case was settled in 2007, on the eve of trial. Terms of the settlement were sealed by the court and remain confidential.
If Vili is a corporation and gets paid for his appearances, how will that be reported by the Aiona committee? Is that a donation of the non-monetary in-kind variety? Obviously if UH football pays him big bucks to clown around in throw-back fantasy Polynesian garb, that has some kind of value. How exactly is that reported to the Campaign Spending Commission? Is there a limit on how many non-paid appearances Vili the Silly can make before Aiona has to pay the corp?
I believe Vili is not UH employee,but, the name is the property of the Aloha Stadium.
Firing would be appropriate!
Firing would be appropriate! This, also, demonstrates poor judgment by Aiona.
For an elected official that seems to be so adamantly opposed to all things, well, rainbow colored, I find the pose Duke and Vili chose as very curious.
that’s much ado about nothing….
there are sooo many other things in our local society to get unhappy about and rail against, methinks….
I beg to differ. Politics and politicians are the root causes and/or the potential solutions to many, if not most, of them.
The fact that you dedicated even 20 seconds to this says all of you have way too much time on your hands. Dissecting state law over “Vili the Warrior” carrying Aiona for a few feet in a small town parade hardly seems to be worthy of the topic of the day. If the newspaper would have printed a silly story like that you all would have skewered them….so it goes.
Some of iLind’s readers aren’t sports fans. It’s been widely reported that Vili is on a contract with UH athletics & not an employee. I’ve seen Vili in character at plenty of non-sports events
PCC defended its action, saying that “Fehoko was terminated over an “incident involving a guest who was assaulted and threatened.”
The case was settled in 2007, on the eve of trial. Terms of the settlement were sealed by the court and remain confidential.
So we would never know what goes on behind PCC and the Vili case.
I suspect he does this partly because PCC, BYU-Hawaii and Hawaii Reserves HRI Administration are going full steam for Mufi Hannemann.
It’s kinda like Lippy Espinda appearing at a political rally. “Hey! Is this this candidate for governor telling us WE gotta drive used cars!?”
It’s the day and age now where people get just a little too offended at too many manini things….
It’s Ian’s blog. It’s his perspective on what’s important. Obviously since this generated comments both pro and con, this is not manini or unworthy of being “topic of the day”.
It is unfortunate that Vili sees himself as a commodity rather than as support for the football team, then again Hawaii sees the team as a commodity rather than as a college sport.
C’mon people, I think Aiona as a gov candidate is a joke and that Vili is no more than a caricature, but they are both public figures, appeared at a Fourth of July parade, and briefly got fresh with each other. How is that a campaign appearance, donation, or endorsement or even remotely an ethics question?
I’m a lefty who is as prone to outrage as anyone but the time/space devoted to this is nothing short of silly.
Over the Top and Rlb – I wonder if you would feel the same way if/when Vili the Warrior ends up on Duke’s commercials? I’m curious to hear from the Mufi and Neil guys on this.
Uh, if we were to apply the what-is-trivial-and-what-is-not standard to all media, I’m afraid the resultant news hole would make the Grand Canyon look like a little pothole.
Just as a recent example. Is what happened to Lindsay Lohan more important for this country than what is happening in, say, Afghanistan?
Anyone want to take a wild guess as to what is getting more media scrutiny?
And that’s the mainstream media we’re talking about.
Besides, as someone has mentioned, it’s Ian’s blog and he can post anything from the sublime to the ridiculous.
It’s a blog, gang.
And this is the comment section Chuck!
I’m surprised this has generated so much comment!
I saw it as an odd but interesting situation that called attention to the restriction on using public resources for private purposes, whether political or commercial.
In this case, because the warrior character appears to be controlled by a private contractor, it would appear that the legal restrictions would not apply.
Pity the poor blogger! It’s hard to find those high-value, high substance examples every day! Sometimes a little variety can make a point, too. Or so I thought.
You never know what’s gonna get people’s blood running!
Perhaps you intend to dig into the subject later, but how ’bout some discussion of the Governor’s vetoes (other than HB 444)?
For example, you earlier spent quite a bit of time/effort criticizing HB 1212 which would have sealed records of complaints against members of certain regulated vocations/professions unless and until a final determination of misconduct was made. Lingle vetoed that and, with your earlier spade work on the subject, you could have discussed that instead of Silly Vili and Dopey Duke.
I’m certainly not criticizing you for NOT returning to the subject but you did seem to suggest that you were in need of subject matter (altho’ I guess you were referring to the need for examples of “using public resources for private purposes”).
Im still waiting for Bongo, Capitolist, and the likes to chime in here. What do you boys and girls think about this seemingly childish concern?
Ian, I am curious on your perspective about whether Aiona need report Vili’s appearance as a non-monetary in-kind contribution to the campaign spending commission? has high paid entertainers volunteering their services ever been addressed by the campaign spending commission?
What are you talking about, “appearance”? They were both in a parade, ran into each other, and mugged for the cameras! They’re both bozos! Who cares?!?
the issue itself independent of Vili the Silly or Aiona is worth a discussion since the point of campaign contribution disclosure laws is to get a better picture of how campaign financing and elections relate to one another. the value, advantage and benefit a big headliner going to a rally of one candidate and performing can have is something that seems more significant and substantial than the little things candidates are required to report as in-kind non-monetary contributions. my question was pointed directly to Ian not you — and if you don’t care why interfere in a question not directed to you.
Your condescension is exceeded only by your presumptuousness.
There is nothing in the “facts” recited above that suggest a case of “a big headliner going to a rally of one candidate and performing .” The information available shows only that they were in a parade, they saw each other, they posed for a picture(s). The entire discussion is utterly thin-skinned, paranaoid, and premature unless you or someone else have info that Silly Vili was there for the purpose of appearing with and for Dopey Duke (and perhaps did so with some UH logo/paraphernalia), did or did not get paid, and it was or was not reported (by DD as a campaign expense or SV as a campaign contribution).
Which brings me to the purpose of the campaign law which only secondarily is “to get a better picture of how campaign financing and elections relate to one another.” The principal purpose is to ascertain whether a particular candidate disclosed the interests represented in her/his campaign, whether donors disclosed their efforts to influence the candidate and her/his campaign, and so that voters can determine whether to support the candidate so that we can all whether the donations are reflected in official actions later taken by the candidate, if elected.
Finally, this is a public forum that Ian is, of course, free to direct. If you want to have a private conversation with him, please do so (by phone, email, or in person). But if you make comments such as the one you made here, expect a response, including one such as mine that asserts no one should care about this tempest in a teapot, absent more/better info.
Well, if Ohia is going to call somebody condescending and presumptuous, its going to be a fun day. I’m a little insulted… I’ve never had that many syllables hurled at me by Ohia before. I need to try harder
“Ian, I am curious on your perspective about whether Aiona need report Vili’s appearance as a non-monetary in-kind contribution to the campaign spending commission?”
Line, as has been pointed out repeatedly, it was a parade! Not a campaign event. Do you expect Aiona to report the in-kind donation of the marching bands? Mufi was in the parade too, maybe they can split the bill.
Chill! And if you don’t expect people to challenge you when you make a statement, feel free to start your own blog with comments turned off.
‘tanks, eh, WooWoo? U da bes’!
ohia – who is more paranoid and thin-skinned? the one labeled paranoid and thin-skinned or the one that rants at the one labeled such? your lengthy ramble did not answer the question i did point directly at you “if you don’t care why interfere in a question not directed to you” saying its a public forum doesn’t answer the question. it begs it.
as to the more broad question i asked that was only tangential to the Vili the Silly story, i was asking Ian’s opinion on the use of these seemingly non-monetary contributions that have been exceedingly monetized over the last 30 years by a much more elaborate international/national intellectual property regime. if someone lent Aiona a car to ride during the parade, that would be considered a non-monetary contribution. when would a professional entertainer’s volunteer appearance/performance at a candidate event or function constitute a non-monetary contribution?
is Vili’s so-called spontaneous holding and caressing of Aiona for picture taking purposes be something of value that constitutes a non-monetary contribution? (which is different, woowoo, by the way, from the marching band that was likely not cuddling with Aiona for the cameras. if the band had specifically walked with Aiona for the duration of the parade and serenade his float/group the entire time, would that be a non-monetary contribution?)
Oh, brother.
The reference to paranoid and thin-skinned obviously was not to you but to the person who made the “complaint” and started this silliness.
Let’s try use some common sense here and not try to count how many politicians can dance on the head of a pin. IF Silly was entered into the parade by its organizers as part of the Aiona contingent and performed in character, yeah, then, sure, there was some sort of value donated (if he was not paid and if he was it has to be listed as a campaign expenditure). If it was an incidental crossing of paths, then it’s just that, incidental.
If Dopey gets votes because he was carried ‘cross the threshhold by Silly, we’re in some serious trouble. Almost as much as if we keep obsessing over this exercise in nit-picking.
No link to Perez’s story from the Star-Bulletin, yet you link to the PBN article.
Auwe.
My error. I meant to include Rob’s story as first link. Will correct ASAP.
yea. on a slow news day, and here in Hawai’i we have many of them… nothing wrong with blogs reporting on any funny kine manini stuffs and we will comment. And it’s all good variety. “It is unfortunate that Vili sees himself as a commodity rather than as support for the football team” Nothing unfortunate about the free enterprise system of america, we are taught. If I were an entrepreneur character like Vili, my allegiance and support would go to the same places; whoever helps pay my bills by hiring me as an entertainer.
All this details stuff aside, dont we all just think of the guy as the UH Warrior Mascot? I certainly dont see him as Vili the Polynesian Actor Guy. And perhaps Im not social enough, but I have not seen Vili anywhere but at events associated with UH. The big UH-USC game is right around the corner, too. Will Vili be hired by Aiona to walk with him there too? Kimo, can we expect the for-hire-entertainer Vili the UH Mascot Warrior/Polynesian Man Actor to appear in future Aiona events, commercials, and supporting campaign materials too?
They both look like supporters of civil unions to me… Ahem. (Just joking.)
Actually, it was a parade, like life, but the weird characters from our imagination are really there.
No, Hipoli, we can not and *should not* expect anything of Vili except for vili to be as visible as he is, and maybe to elope with Aiona because gosh! they MUST be gay, cuz Vili picked up Aiona! and Vili is affiliated with something called the “rainbow” warriors. Nope. NO more “can we expect”… cuz as we see there are too many expectations already running amok by people wanting to cause a tempest in a teapot.
Kimo – youre doing an awfully fancy song and dance, not responding to any of the specific questions being posed, rather deflecting and seeking to minimize. Sure hope that parade was worth it and that Vili the Warrior/Polynesian Man Actor For Hire’s main contract as UH Football’s mascot is not at risk because of our bright-as-a-bulb-LG-wanna-be-Gov. Call me a cynic, but Im guessing that if Vili the Warrior/Polynesian Man Actor For Hire shows up in any more of Duke’s events or campaign materials, theres going to be some really unhappy people at UH, if they arent already.
But, at least we know that if Duke does actually win, Vili can carry him across the threshold of the Gov’s office!
…and they lived happily ever after.
I’m about ready to cut off this discussion as unproductive.
There are several thoughtful people on different sides on this issue.
No reason to poison our relationships.
I would like to keep all of you involved and participating.
Enough, okay??
I guess you now understand why Tsai’s Blog became so popular. People at times care more about sports and non-news issues… then what is really important at times.
I do find it interesting that some of the things I think would be really interesting aren’t to my readers and then stuff that I don’t think has much relevance on real life things takes off.
My thoughts on Vili… “BEST MASCOT IN THE NATION”…. But in reality… UH could have any “Large” cheerleader doing the same thing…
I’m a little late to this but there’s something in Ian’s report that all the “so what” posters are missing and makes this more than just a chance a meet-up at a parade.
Ian reported that “This was a Twitpic photo posted by Aiona’s campaign. There’s also a YouTube video of the same scene.”.
The photo isn’t the problem- it’s the posting of it by the campaign that should raise an issue. When a campaign uses the image for campaign purposes rules kick in that aren’t otherwise in play.
And given all the lack of reporting of required information that’s already been reported in the governor’s campaign I’d say this is a fine germane report by Ian.
If you notice, their business is “not in good standing”. They have not filed with the state since incorporating. Maybe Duke should be made aware of this.
Personally I’d like to see someone who looks like an athlete, who is a student be the Warrior Mascot. Vili is a nice man, but he’s getting older, he’s very out of shape and being a mascot is a young mans job. He’s got a gig in Maui, he should stick to that for now.
I think thats a great idea, Kamakana! I would love to see one of our young, beautiful, handsome, muscular, Hawaiian men become our UH Warrior. I can imagine the girlfriends and wives who accompany all their men just swooning and drooling.
Come on, Chancellor, make this happen!
hipoli…my wife said giver her a mascot that looks like this and she’ll buy us season tickets:
http://www.sportsshooter.com/members.html?id=3960ol
I was thinking more along the lines like one of these really fine men:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Xr1Wd17w-g
But youre wife is pretty funny. You should keep her.