I was browsing this morning, and ended up at the Honolulu Ethics Commission web site. This is the city agency, not connected to the State Ethics Commission.
Unlike the state, which makes lots of information readily available, from lobbyist registration forms, public financial disclosures, and gift disclosures, the city site is pretty bare. I clicked on “Lobbyist Information.” Not much there, but it did include annual lists of lobbyists registered to represent clients before the city. Mostly it’s the usual suspects.
Development consultant Keith Kurahashi seems to be the leading figure representing a variety of clients, from the Queen’s Medical Center to Kyo-Ya Hotels.
Then there’s Schnitzer Steel Hawaii with an unusual number of big guns, including “Red” Morris and John Radcliffe, PR exec Cindy McMillan, John Sabas (married to Jennifer Goto Sabas, Sen. Dan Inouye’s chief of staff), Travis Taylor (former communications advisor to Duke Aiona), and former city council member (remember her?) Rene Mansho.
A quick check on the city’s Docushare system found that Schnitzer is Hawaii’s largest metal recycler, and has been in the middle of the controversy over whether to continue a city subsidy that costs taxpayers a lot of money every year regardless of the profitability of the company.
With so much lobbying muscle at Schnifzer’s disposal, I wondered who was on the other side. They include Jim Banigan, former Schnifzer manager, and Keith Rollman (yes, the same Keith Rollman who became a household name with his Atomic Monkey web site that attacked then candidate Neil Abercrombie).
Rollman testified against the subsidy on behalf of “CleanGreen Advocacy for Hawaii.” Although sounding like an environmental group, CleanGreen lists its partners as Paragon Metals International, Inc., a scrap metal company, and Kokua Renewable Energy, which does not appear in the state’s business registration database.
Paragon is a competitor of Schnitzer and launched an unsuccessful federal lawsuit against Schnitzer back in 2008.
According to the CleanGreen Advocacy web site:
What We Do
We focus on legislative and government regulatory issues that affect the growth of sustainable industries in Hawaii. We can help with permitting processes, bill tracking, testimony preparation and one-on-one lobbying with key decision makers. We can work as an adjunct to your existing public policy consultants and PR teams.
That sounds a lot like lobbying, although neither Rollman nor CleanGreen appear on the city list of registered lobbyists.
For more on Rollman’s current activities, check his resume, and R Strategic Communications, a trade name Rollman registered in July 2008.
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Can you say “Alan Greenscam”?
I don’t want to be distracted by Keith Rollman’s role in this. What strikes me as central is why Honolulu taxpayers should provide a subsidy to a metal recycling company which seems to be making a profit from handling the recycling?
I wanna be fair. Is the profit margin insufficient for Schnitzer to stay in the business if the subsidy were stopped? Is there another metal recycling company willing and capable of taking over if Schnitzer got their schnozzle out of joint and walked away?
I suspect, if Schnitzer is relying upon ” a little help from their friends,” they are trying to shake a few extra dollars from the money tree, dollars which they would not get if left to the “free” market.
NOW, back to Keith. I clicked through to his online resume and will advise him the layout does not create an impression of professionalism. Spend a few bucks, Keith, have someone with a bit more graphic design experience help you format your resume and it will be much more convincing.
You offer to deliver to create an ” intensely effective, results-oriented, communication programs utilizing all available media strategies,” yet your own resume page looks amateurish?
But a focus on Keith is a distraction from the more important focus on why the heck we are subsidizing Schnitzer if they are already making money in the deal.
It’s interesting that Ann Kobayashi was the loudest City Council voice for continued granting of the unwarranted subsidy, before quietly folding when it became clear which way the wind was blowing (and her instructors no doubt provided a helpful cue).
(This was soon after she and Cachola went nuts on some guy who dared to publicly question what vested interests might by driving things, thereby drawing more attention to the matter)
Now that the subsidy has been eliminated, how hard will Kobayashi and others push for a restored but reduced giveaway? That’s the play now in motion.
Honolulu Ethics Commission? This is a joke, right?
Schnitzer Steel has diverted about $19 million from taxpayers over the life of this “subsidy” bill; $1.9 million last year alone. Their old GM of twenty years has testified that the profitable corporation doesn’t need the money and it’s basically a scam. Schnitzer makes about a million dollars a month in Hawaii. The extra tax money is simply added to their bottom line.
Bill 47, to eliminate this “subsidy” was passed unanimously and signed into law by the Mayor yesterday. However, the Council now wants to put it back with Bill 36, probably as the result of the efforts of all the lobbyists listed by Ian.
Clean Green, which is only 6 months old and still in it’s formative development, will eventually be involved in lobbying and other advocacy work for sustainable businesses. We are not a registered lobbyist for Paragon Metals, and the bills in question do not directly affect their business…there is nothing to lobby for. Bill 47 was submitted by Todd Apo on behalf of the city administration. Paragon is simply providing testimony on the bill from its perspective, like we are.
Kolea seems to have a hard time following their own advice.
You’re right!
I appreciate your additional information about the profits being made by Schnitzer.
But you might wanna take my advice about the graphic designer.
The giveaways continue.
On the same day the City Council increased homeowner property taxes and sewer fees, it decreased taxes for landlords and speculators– including a council member or two who often prattle for the cameras about concerns for renters –by collapsing two property classifications into one last year, then completing the scheme by setting a new rate today that’s higher than the old homeowner rate but lower than the old landlord rate.
But wait, there’s more. They also revived the unnecessary subsidy that mostly benefits a single metal recycler that has failed to show any valid need for it.
The flimsy rationale? Let’s all support recycling, and it would be mean to kill the whole subsidy right away, so let’s instead decrease it a little each year.
The truth? It has nothing to do with supporting recycling, and should have been killed years ago, and this is the best giveaway they could cook up with everyone watching.
Special interests and self interest on parade, and it ain’t the first time.
If you check out the comment section of Civil Beat, you will find that Rolman is attacking Abercrombie for the latter’s support of childhood health support and criticism of State subsidies of NFL games in Hawaii. This means that Rolman is on the payroll of the NFL or of the tourism industry or … of an unknown and unannounced gubernatorial candidate, perhaps former mayor M.H.? K.R. only does things for money, although he does seem like an NFL kind of guy.
Ironically, K.R. is attacking N.A. for his “big government” projects, when R. is also the most vocal lobbyist for the rail project, the most expensive government project in Hawaii’s history.
Then there is the little guy.
Schnitzer in portland oregon has been involved in a few lawsuits involving women. Apparently in 2009 and then again currently there have been some sexual harassment lawsuits filed. Not only do they get to run around and collect from the big money tree. They get to treat women like dirt. 2 suits filed in 2 years. Hmmmmm…..
They must have a prerequisite for management. Must be a dirt bag? What a shame.
Here we go for round three. Bill 61, which goes for first reading 9/12/12, seeks to eliminate the discount for for-profit entities effective 1/1/13.