Honolulu City Council member Val Okimoto has publicly accused a senior member of Mayor Rick Blangiardi’s administration of threatening to withhold funding from her district if she did not vote to approve the mayor’s choice for housing director.
During Wednesday’s monthly council meeting, Okimoto said she received a written message from a “senior administration official” after a September public hearing on Kevin Auger’s appointment to lead the new Department of Housing and Land Management. She did not disclose who sent the message.
“A written message from a senior administration official indicated that the release of my district appropriations will be contingent on the outcome of this vote,” she said at the council meeting. “These funds are not discretionary favors. They are duly appropriated resources approved by this council for the benefit and safety of our constituents. To attach political conditions to the release fundamentally undermines the integrity of this body and the public trust.”
Okimoto has tussled with another mayoral nominee in the past. In February, she postponed a vote on Emergency Services Director Jim Ireland’s reappointment after former EMS employees alleged he fostered a toxic work environment. Eventually, eight council members unanimously confirmed Ireland, with Okimoto as the sole yes with reservations. Council member Andria Tupola was absent for the vote…