This sounds like classic “Godfather-Speak”.
“…I am telling you to resign, or I will make it very difficult for you and your family, and you know I can.”
Honolulu Mayor Rick Blagiardi to then Honolulu Police Chief Arthur “Joe” Logan
May 28, 2025
From a lawsuit Logan filed this week over his ouster.
As the complaint spells out, Logan told a number of people about the threat soon after it was made, adding credibility to his account of what was said during this meeting with the mayor.
One has to wonder what Blangiardi was threatening to do? How would he “make it very difficult” for the chief and his family?
Is this the “real” Rick speaking?
Blangiardi’s threat against the chief and his family got the most news coverage.
But there’s an equally disturbing description of the mayor’s attempt to quash public information, undermine transparency, and “find ways to avoid releasing public information.”
Escalating Retaliation and Threats
24. MAYOR BLANGIARDI’s frustration with CHIEF LOGAN’s adherence to legal requirements escalated into a pattern of retaliation and intimidation.25. In September 2024, after an HPD internal survey was released, MAYOR BLANGIARDI told two HPC Commissioners, who supported the internal survey and its release, that he was going to force CHIEF LOGAN’s resignation.
26. MAYOR BLANGIARDI attempted to prevent the release of the HPD internal survey, directing that HPD not release the survey and worked with the City’s Corporation Counsel to find ways to avoid releasing public information.
27. When Corporation Counsel determined the survey must be released, MAYOR BLANGIARDI was extremely upset, and told CHIEF LOGAN, ‘If you had asked me I would have told you not to do such a survey.'”
28. In late 2024 and early 2025, both of HPD’s civil service PIOs resigned and retired.
29. In or about February to April 2025, when CHIEF LOGAN went to push the City’s HR to hire the new permanent PIOs, MAYOR BLANGIARDI called CHIEF LOGAN and told CHIEF LOGAN that his team would pick who the HPD PIOs would be because CHIEF LOGAN lacked the necessary qualifications to know what good PIOs are.
30. CHIEF LOGAN pushed back against this and stated, “You are trying to micromanage the department.”
31. MAYOR BLANGIARDI became upset and told CHIEF LOGAN, “I knew you were going to say that and I hate this, I am not trying to micromanage your department, you don’t have the 40 years of experience my team and I have when it comes to the media.”
32. CHIEF LOGAN told MAYOR BLANGIARDI, “No, I don’t, but I know what type of persons I am looking for.”
33. In or about May 2025, at the Districts 1, 3 and 5 Townhall meeting, MAYOR BLANGIARDI’s Communications Director, Scott Humber, said that all PIO hires must go through the Mayor’s office and they will all be contracted positions not permanent civil service. CHIEF LOGAN believes this is a blatant violation of Civil Service rules.
34. CHIEF LOGAN objected to Mr. Humber regarding HPD having the PIO as contracted positions.
Hawaii News Now reported on the survey of HPD officers when it was publicly released last year (“Low morale, poor communication among complaints by HPD officers in internal survey”).
Last month, HPD announced the hiring of a new communications director.
It appears that after bullying Logan out of his job, Mayor Rick got his way and the new communications director is a contract hire without civil service protections. The same is likely true of her staff.
This has nothing to do with the new director’s extensive experience and skills.
This is how the job was listed by the city when applicants were being solicited, and appears to indicate it is a contract position after all.
Z_Honolulu Police Department Communications Director
Position Information
Honolulu Police Department Communcations Director Contract
Office of the ChiefSalary
$9,142.00 MonthlyLocation
Honolulu, HIJob Type
Full-TimeJob Number
CONTRACT_COM DIRDepartment
Chief’s OfficeOpening Date
04/14/2025
“All the better to control you with, my dear,” said the big bad wolf.
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Sounds like the usual Hawaii mess. Thanks for update.
Subject: A Counterpoint to the “Godfather” Narrative
I read your recent post regarding Mayor Blangiardi and former Chief Logan with a heavy heart. Not because I believe it reveals anything shocking about the Mayor, but because it seems to elevate a single, unproven narrative to the level of certainty—despite significant room for doubt.
Those of us who know both Rick Blangiardi and Joe Logan understand that something is being twisted here. The quote you highlighted—“I am telling you to resign, or I will make it very difficult for you and your family, and you know I can”—sounds more like screenplay dialogue than something Blangiardi would actually say. It’s theatrical, not credible. And yet it’s being paraded as gospel.
I don’t deny that tensions existed. But to portray this as some mafioso-style ultimatum overlooks the reality that conflicts between executives and department heads happen in every administration—especially when transparency, media strategy, and accountability are on the line. That doesn’t make it criminal. It doesn’t even make it improper. It just makes it politics.
What’s being lost here is balance. Logan may feel aggrieved, and he has every right to take legal action. But public commentary should resist picking sides prematurely, especially when the facts are still contested.
Sometimes the “threat” is just a political difference. Sometimes “control” is simply management. And sometimes lawsuits are tools of legacy management as much as justice-seeking.
Let’s wait for the facts—and resist the temptation to treat every allegation as established truth.
Thanks
Let me reply to your comments.
This is not a criminal case where the defendant is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This is a civil dispute which provides a glimpse behind the usual privacy curtain that the mayor enjoys. We would be remiss if we failed to note the allegations and what they might mean. In this case, as I noted, Logan says he talked to others about the threat which, if true, adds to the credibility of his account. And then there’s the second issue, the mayor’s apparent efforts to gain more control by taking away civil service protections for the public information professionals. That’s how it looks from out here, and that’s the way the position ended up, it appears.
While you are correct that “every allegation” should not be considered “established truth,” every allegation should not be ignored or dismissed until it is finally recognized as “established truth.” The Kealoha’s used that argument to shield themselves from from criticism, and it worked for far too long. And it would have been successful if not for federal intervention.
Thank you, Ian—I appreciate the thoughtful response.
You’re right that this is a civil dispute, not a criminal one, and the threshold for public accountability is lower. I don’t argue that allegations should be ignored—only that they should be framed as just that: allegations.
But the tone and presentation in both your blog and Civil Beat coverage leaned heavily toward affirming Logan’s account without seriously exploring alternative explanations or even noting the strategic nature of lawsuits, especially those seeking back pay. That gives the impression—intended or not—of endorsing the narrative rather than reporting it.
The Kealoha comparison is instructive, but also extreme. There were years of investigative work, patterns of behavior, and federal charges. We’re nowhere near that here. The risk isn’t ignoring warning signs—it’s assuming every whistleblower claim is a red flag.
I simply hope that as someone with your credibility and voice, you’ll continue to press for accountability on both sides of these disputes. That’s what builds real public trust.
Thanks
Thank you for the careful and balanced comments….I too felt this was quite theatrical….designed to elicit sympathy rather than truth
Very, very difficult and complicated situation. Lawsuits are a lose:lose (lose = public) option IMHO.
Excellent reporting! This news is concise and shocking at the same time.
The current Mayor “Blow Hard” has gone too far and created undue liability to the taxpayers of Honolulu.
Greasy, “Rick Rolex” resemblance to “Daddy Whorebucks” is completely irrational in 2025.
The City has gone nowhere in a good direction…Mayor Balangiardi’s sheer repugnant dictatorship makes Frank F. Fasi look like a charming gentleman of vast accomplishment who ruled much more properly, with some humility in an age 50 years gone by.
Vito Corleone https://pritchettweeklycartoon.com/
Use this link: https://pritchettweeklycartoon.com/comments-godfather.htm
My initial reaction was shades of The Godfather. But then I second-guessed myself thinking that the Mayor couldn’t possibly have been so foolish. Many have since made a similar comparison, so I feel somewhat validated. What a mess! Thanks for your clear analysis.
Blangiardi’s shameless and blatantly incestuous relationship with former and perhaps current minions at KGMB, and the selective access, distortions, and political and managerial abuse to which that relationship lends itself, absolutely cries out actual media for scrutiny.
As just one example, Blangiardi “granted” an exclusive “interview “ to KGMB immediately after Logan was ousted, errr, retired, in which Blangiardi completely framed the narrative and did all the talking while the “reporter” was not seen to ask a single question. Not one.
This after Blangiardi obviously used his KGMB newscast monologues as self-promoting undeclared campaign advertising for months in advance of his leap into electoral politics.
There are many other examples that some folks apparently choose not to see.
It’s simply shameless and disgusting.
Let’s take a deeper look, just for fun.
— HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said he did not fire Honolulu Police Chief Arthur “Joe” Logan, but admits he wanted a change.
Blangiardi responded to critics who accused him of exceeding his authority.
In explaining the process, he said he met with Logan Monday afternoon to discuss his future with the department.
“Joe Logan walked in here and told me he decided he was going to retire,” Blangiardi said.
Blangiardi said Logan could have instead said he was going to remain at the helm despite the criticism…. —
The denial that he had fired Logan is a non sequitur, of course, since Blangiardi lacks any authority whatsoever to fire a police chief. And, of course, the concern was always that Blangiardi had UNDULY PRESSURED Logan to bail, attempted to usurp the City Charter by personally directing the Police Commission’s actions, and personally and directly orchestrated the fiasco in which the Big Island’s police chief announced his departure to become the acting chief in Honolulu — all before the full Honolulu Police Commission had ever jointly discussed the matter, at least in a manner that didn’t secretly violate state law.
It certainly appears that Blangiardi was not exactly forthcoming when he “granted” that exclusive “interview” to the former subordinates at the station he personally managed not long ago.
And that’s putting it mildly. So how deep is this iceberg?
https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2025/06/05/honolulu-mayor-defends-role-police-chiefs-decision-retire-i-did-not-overstep/
So, uhm, did the Mayor’s Office pick HPD’s new PIO staff, as Blangiardi allegedly demanded, and would doing so be appropriate, unprecedented, or even legal?