In yesterday’s entry, I made a passing reference to the legal work done by Ethics Commission chair Lex Smith for the city.
He has also been paid to represent the city in certain legal cases involving leasehold conversion.
Later in the day, I took a closer look and realized Smith and his law firm (Kobayashi, Sugita & Goda) have extensive contracts with the city valued at well over $1.5 million and counting.
Here are some the cases they were involved in on behalf of the city since 2004:
Civil No. 98-2164 (VSM), UPW v. Balfour, et al.; Civil No. 98-2174 (VLC), UPW v. Harris, et al.; and Civil No. 98-2176 (SSM), UPW v. BWS, et al. Authorized fees up to $300,000. March 2004.
Bodell Construction Company V. GMP Hawaii, Inc., et al. ($225 per hour rate for partners, $140 for associates, and $80 for paralegals). Authorized fees up to $250,000 as of June 2005.
Various Lawsuits Relating to Residential Condominium Leasehold Conversion. Authorized up to $200,000. December 2006.
Wastewater Related Construction Projects that were awarded to Robison Construction. Inc. (“RCI”). Authorized up to $880,000 as of August 2007.
Civil No. 05-1-2249-12 EEH, Communications-Pacific.Inc.v.City and County of Honolulu,etal. $135,000 authorized as of Jan 2010.
“WITH REGARD TO TRANSIT-RELATED PROCUREMENT.” Not to exceed $50,000. October 2009. (“at the rate of $295.00 per hour for review, evaluation, consultation, drafting of letters, preparation, research, and representation”)
All the amounts shown are moving targets. Additional funds are added by the counsel via resolution as the cases move forward.
To be considered for city contracts, lawyers submit a “Statement of Qualifications and Expression of Interest” to the Corporation Counsel. Beyond that, actual selections appear to be at the discretion of the administration with approval by the council.
Does the sum of these contracts, along with Smith’s ties to the campaigns of the mayor and managing director, raise questions of conflicts for him as chair of the Honolulu Ethics Commission?
I’ll leave that question for another day.
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Of course it does- you give me a contract, I give you a pass on your ethics complaint
We have a charter provision on Kaua`i (20.02[D]) that has only recently been enforced (due to citizen activism) that says that no official or employees of any agency, board or commission can “appear on behalf of private interests before” any agency board or commission.
We actually had people on the ethics board itself that were coming, hat in hand, before the council for funding as well as attorney’s that were members of other boards/commissions appearing before the council and/or planning commission on behalf of developers.
The administration tried to remove it from the charter last election but voters nixed the amendment.
We are just surprised that there is not more lawsuits against the city. Look at how they operate in your backyard.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgTNKvDmsHk&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJnAo9X0jTY&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUgsD0EbYWI&feature=channel
The community gets what the community wants…from schools to officials. Hawai’i residents must like what goes on because they keep voting for it. Ho-hum!
Most people just don’t know what is going on. This is why we need more investigative journalism.