I noticed this HMAA ad in the front section of the Star-Advertiser yesterday morning, congratulating former City Council member John Henry Felix and entertainer Jimmy Borges after they were honored by something called the Honolulu Police Community Foundation. Short bulleted biographies are given of each of the men.

Interestingly, the ad omits one key fact: Felix is chairman, CEO, president, secretary, and a director of HMAA, according to state business registration records. Basically, he runs the show. It might have been relevant to readers of HMAA’s ad.

Also interesting to note that HMAA’s directors include Mayor Hannemann’s wife, Gail, and former State Attorney General Warren Price.

I wonder if Felix is thinking about running for that District 4 seat formerly held by Charles Djou and temporarily filled by Lee Donohue? It’s the district Felix previously represented in the council. Last year, he moved to Kailua in order to run in the special election for the District 3 seat, so it’s clear he still has political ambitions, although that special election landed him in hot water with the Campaign Spending Commission.

And who was the attorney representing Felix in proceedings before the Campaign Spending Commission? Warren Price. Small world.

At this point I got curious about the Honolulu Police Community Foundation. What is this group and what do they do? I have to say that I’m always somewhat suspicious of private organizations linked to the police, where participation or contributions can too easily become a pathway for people and businesses seeking to curry favor with law enforcement.

In this case, a list of the group’s directors lists Lee Donohue as the foundation’s president. I don’t know whether this will change while he’s on the city council.

The Honolulu Police Community Foundation is a federally and state-registered 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to supporting police officers, their families, and the community. We raise and distribute funds consistent with our mission, and award higher education scholarships annually.

According to the group’s 2008 tax return, the latest publicly available, it awarded $5,000 in scholarships ($500 each to ten students) during the year and paid $36,782 to purchase and donate Tasers to HPD.

The fundraising event at which Felix and Borges were honored was held May 21, 2010 at the Sheraton Waikiki Ballroom. Individual tickets were priced at $200, with tables of ten going for up to $25,000.

According to the invitation, checks for the event were to be sent to the Hawaii Kai Drive address of the Hawaii office of AKAL Security, now the nation’s second largest private security firm. Donohue was regional director of AKAL until early 2009, when AKAL sold much of its Hawaii business to Securitas Security Services USA. Donohue then became Hawaii area director of security for the new operation.

There’s nothing untoward in all this, but it is an interesting look at a particular slice of the community. This all becomes “for future reference”.