LIHU‘E — To those who believe Ernie Pasion’s decade of working closely with the Kaua‘i County Council and County Clerk will stop him from fulfilling his duties as the county’s first full-time auditor, he has a message for you. “They
LIHU‘E — To those who believe Ernie Pasion’s decade of working closely with the Kaua‘i County Council and County Clerk will stop him from fulfilling his duties as the county’s first full-time auditor, he has a message for you.
“They just have to watch my actions. I just got into this office and I’m committed to implement what the charter says,” Pasion said in a phone interview Friday afternoon. “I have a mission to get county government to be accountable and have fiscal integrity … and more transparency in government for us to be able to serve the public in a more effective way.”
He said his office is empowered by the charter to have full, free and unrestricted access to any county agency, is authorized to examine or inspect any record, can issue subpoenas if requests are not complied with, and can secure the legal services of the County Attorney, Prosecuting Attorney, or outside counsel as necessary.
Since Wednesday, when the former deputy county clerk was sworn in to the new post, created via a charter amendment approved in November’s general election, some have said the veteran of county government will have difficulty asserting his independence when it comes to reviewing the performance of people he has worked with in the past.
“The idea was to hire somebody totally independent from outside the county,” said Kaua‘i government watchdog and blogger Andy Parx in a phone interview Friday, adding that Pasion was the “ultimate insider” and that his appointment was “a huge disappointment.”
“This guy has been a political appointee of the council for 12 years. That’s the only reason he has the job,” Parx said. “I don’t see that he’ll do anything except exactly what the council tells him to do. That’s exactly what he’s done for 12 years, and he serves at their pleasure.”
While Pasion was interviewed and appointed by the council, it would take a two-thirds supermajority vote — five of seven councilmembers — to remove him from office before the conclusion of his six-year term. Council members serve terms of just two years.
Council Vice Chair Jay Furfaro — who said he authored the charter amendment that the council, rather than the Charter Review Commission, put on the ballot — said Pasion would be subject to annual review by the council, but that the auditor has the power to investigate agencies without direction from the council.
“Ernie can act on items that he sincerely believes a better understanding of protocol, procedure and accountability is required,” Furfaro said in a phone interview Friday.
“Do I think Ernie can act independently? I think there’s a big plus there because of his time with his department,” Furfaro said. “He has gone through all of the budgeting process, he has gone through all of the special fund reviews, he actually understands the standard operating procedures that are in place for government.
“I see those as additional advantages, not disadvantages, and he clearly … has the autonomy to act independently,” Furfaro said. “He is a liaison with the legislative body, but he also has certain independent and autonomous activities that he can pursue on his own if he sees fit.”
Veteran councilmember Daryl Kaneshiro, chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee, said he was “quite satisfied” with Pasion’s unanimous appointment and not worried about issues of independence because the auditor can hire subordinates to conduct audits of county agencies as well as conduct them himself.
“He’s been, through my experience, he’s a person who’s done his work diligently,” Kaneshiro said in a Friday phone interview. “I think the process was good and the end result I think will be good for the county with the experience he has.”
Kapa‘a resident Glenn Mickens agreed in written testimony Wednesday that Pasion is “a hard-working, intelligent, always-available person who has done his job for the county for many years,” but said the auditor position “should have a person of extremely neutral characteristics with no ties to our government.”
“With all due respect to my friend Ernie, who I have no questions about his honesty or integrity, there would still remain the appearance of impropriety in any decision making whether or not an infraction took place,” Mickens wrote.
However, asked if he would be willing and able to investigate the council or even County Clerk Peter Nakamura, his former boss, Pasion answered in the affirmative.
“If there’s gross misconduct … of course. That’s my duty as the County Auditor. I have to enforce the law,” he said. “It’s not about personalities but about the merits of every audit case.”
