Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 25, Number 11, 1 November 2008 — Unfounded accusations must stop [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Unfounded accusations must stop

Walter M. Heen TrustEE, 0'shu

Fbr months now, the OHA 'ohana has sadly read and hstened to the ranting of Tmstee Rowena Akana aimed mostly at Chairperson Haunani Apoliona, Trustee Colette Machado, Administrator Clyde Nāmu'o and the administrative staff. I am accustomed to nasty poMeal drivel, but Akana has now gone too far. Her notoriously false allegations have placed OHA and the board in jeopardy of civil liability, as you will see. On the morning of Oct. 16, staff member Aulani Apoliona delivered to every trustee a copy of a letter she had written to Akana complaining about Akana's hannfully false allegations against her. The letter is obviously prompted by Akana's October KWO eolumn, whieh repeats her charges of nepotism and asserts that Aulani unjustifiably flies frrst-class, improperly used an OHA credit card and improperly sought reimbursement of $50,000 for using her own credit card. Aulani's letter expressed deep hurt (when she spoke to me about it, there were tears in her eyes) and asked Akana to cease her false allegations. Finally, Aulani said that if Akana

did not do so, she (Aulani) would seek legal action against Akana "and, unfortunately, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs." That statement prompted this eoMnn. Let's examine Akana's charges: 1. Akana's nepotism charge rises from the fact that Aulani is Chairperson Apoliona's sister. What Akana has never taken the courtesy to tell KWO readers is that Aulani became an OHA employee long before Haunani was elected to the board. Should Haunani have frred her sister? 2. As for Akana's charges about Aulani's first-class air travel, Akana must know full well that the confidentiality of that matter is required by federal law. Raising that as an issue is disingenuous at best and, perhaps, subjects Akana to a federal charge. I have discussed the credit card situation with the administrator and personally examined the records of Aulani's expenditures. I am satisfied that there are no legal grounds for asserting willful violation. Aulani's accounting methods had been inadequate from a record-keeping standpoint, but that has been corrected. OHA has not lost any money on that account, and Aulani's reimbursement was legal and justified. 3. 1 am concerned about a possible lawsuit in this matter, even though Aulani's eomplaint is primarily against Akana. Aulani could allege that the entire board is complicit in this matter for not stopping or sanctioning

Akana for abusing her duty as a trustee. You may ask, "So what? The board has insurance against liability." But after providing legal assistance the insurance company could well ask for an increase in OHA's premiums. That would reduce funds available for our beneficiaries. Akana's reckless behavior has put OHA, eaeh individual trustee and a portion of the trust fund at risk. Akana's behavior is utterly contrary to her obligations as a trustee. A trustee owes a solemn responsibihty and duty to defend the organization against false allegations of wrongdoing, not to utter them. While we eannot condone wrongful behavior by the staff, personnel matters are confidential and should be handled privately and respectfully. We are obligated to counsel the adimnistrative staff in proper employee conduct and ensure that the chief administrator is aware of and addresses any such concems we might have. It does not serve the tmst or the individual tmstee, and certainly not the employee, to publicly air recklessly unfounded allegations. Having taken issue with Akana on this matter, I am compelled to examine other allegations in her October eoMnn. I will leave for Tmstee Stender to answer Akana's charges regarding the extent of the budget. However, as usual, Akana has repeated her red herring regarding lobbying fees. Akana has sat in executive meetings in whieh we have discussed with the lobbyists their activities regarding the Akaka Bill. She has questioned them about their activities and never eomplained about their answers. She knows that the movement of the bill through the U.S. Senate is solely within the province of our Senators,

Akaka and Inouye. The lobbyists ean only assist them in persuading other senators to favor the bill and in "counting the votes." Akana charges that Trustee Machado misled the board by telling them that the Moloka'i community supported the efforts of Moloka'i Ranch to exchange several thousand acres of "legacy lands" in exchange for the right to construct high-end homes on Lā'au Point. Akana asserts that "we believed her and approved" a resoMion supporting the program. However, the minutes show that at the meeting when the issue was discussed, the opposition was described and debated. Furthennore, the opposition was eonunon knowledge in the coimnunity. Akana voted against the resoMion. Akana asserts that certain beneficiaries were treated rudely by Apoliona and Machado during a board meeting. Akana finds that reprehensible. Akana forgets that when she was Chair she had one kūpuna arrested for insisting on her right to speak at a board meeting. Additionally, at a meeting she presided over at the Capitol, Akana had security cordon off the frrst two rows, presumably to keep the beneficiaries at a distance. Finally, Akana believes that OHA is laeking in the kind of leadership that the beneficiaries deserve: "[l]eaders who ean agree to disagree ... but who ean respect [others] for their differences. We cannot treat people who do not agree with us as enemies, we will never be able to build a nation that way." Her coMnns belie those very words. She obviously believes that Apoliona and Machado are her enemies (others of us somewhat lesser enemies) and treats them as such. E3