Honolulu Managing Director Mike Formby texted council members Val Okimoto and Radiant Cordero in September that he would withhold funding to their districts if they voted against the mayor’s choice for housing director.
Formby says the message was meant to start a conversation, but the leader of a government watchdog group in Hawaiʻi described the political play as immoral and unethical.
The texts’ existence remained private for months until Okimoto mentioned the interaction last week as the council voted to approve Kevin Auger as director of the Department of Housing and Land Management…