Experts: Victorino Radio Ad for Dark Money Group Lacks Transparency

Mayor Michael Victorino’s vigorous campaign against the seven proposed charter amendments reached a new low this week with the release of a radio ad voiced by him. It was paid for by the dark money ballot issue committee, “Vote No on Charter Amendments Hui O Maui Nui We Can’t Afford It.” In the ad, Victorino urges voters to reject Charter Amendment No. 2, which calls for the creation of an “Office of the Managing Director.”

This new Managing Director would be hired by the mayor to serve as the chief operating officer of Maui County, with selection input from the county council chair and a citizens’ advisory group. Among other things, the new manager (rather than each new mayor) would appoint department heads, presumably without the complaints of cronyism that have plagued past and current mayoral administrations.

Now, Victorino’s opposition to the Managing Director amendment and the other six is nothing new. He’s written opinion pieces for the Maui News and spoken out against them whenever possible. Here’s a link to a more objective view of the amendments put forth by County Council Chair Alice Lee and vetted by county attorneys. And, while we’re at it, here’s a recent email countering Victorino’s viewpoint from retired attorney Mark Hyde. Hyde helped draft the amendment and currently chairs the Holomua Ohana for Professional Management ballot issue committee.

Victorino’s opposition has been pretty self-serving. After all, four of the seven amendments would curtail his authority in one form or another. But hey, have at it. However, being used as the front man for a mysterious dark money group funded by unknown individuals takes that opposition to a new and more problematic level.

Colin Moore, the director of the University of Hawaii’s Public Policy Center, found Victorino’s participation in the radio ad concerning.

“It’s not as if he personally bought time on the radio to say, ‘Don’t support this,’” Moore said. “It’s that he’s using totally untransparent money from this group that I find troubling.”

The “Vote No” ballot issue committee is chaired by Roselani ice cream executive Buddy James Nobriga. That’s where the transparency stops. Nobriga seems to have a warm relationship with the mayor, who appointed Nobriga in July to serve on the county’s Economic Recovery Task Force. Nobriga’s committee reported receiving $20,000 in donations from its mothership, the 501(c)(4) mainland-created Hui O Maui group. That’s according to paperwork filed with the Hawaii Election Spending Commission through the end of last month. Given the banners, cards and radio ads flooding airwaves, I suspect we’ll see far more money raised during this period.

I contacted Nobriga to inquire about the mayor’s appearance in the anti-managing director amendment ad, and to ask whether the mayor would be making more appearances in opposition to other amendments. He did not respond.

I wrote the mayor last week seeking comment on the Hui O Maui group and its super PAC subordinates. He ignored those questions. Okay, full disclosure, the mayor always ignores my questions. After I sent mayoral spokesman Brian Perry a new request for comment about the radio ad (that he also will ignore), I decided to check in with a mayor who would talk to me, my brother-in-law R.T. Rybak.

R.T. had a 12-year, three-term run as mayor of Minneapolis, where he was extraordinarily popular. He was elected in 2001 by a 65%-35% margin, the widest in Minneapolis history. R.T. took his hits along the way, but he always remained accessible to constituents and the media, regardless of his thoughts about coverage. In short, the definition of a responsible elected official and a true civic leader.

The former mayor had no problem with Victorino’s decision to insert his opinions about the charter amendments into the current election campaign—even if they’re self serving. “I wouldn’t do it, but I think it’s legitimate for a mayor to have a stake in governance and to campaign for what he thinks is the best system,” he said.

What did bother him was similar to Moore’s concerns: the propriety of appearing in a radio ad paid for with dark money.

“This is an issue of transparency. Do Maui residents have a clear knowledge of what kind of potential conflict is being created through that funding? If it’s an individual who’s funding the campaign and we know who that is, that’s great.”

But, he added, “If it’s a name without full disclosure about where the money is coming from, the voters don’t have the tools they need to know about it. People have the right to ask how participating in a campaign like that could potentially tie the mayor’s hands.”