Last November, voters spoke loud and clear. By a three-to-one margin, they said they wanted a new office created to improve the county’s accountability, transparency and functionality by conducting fiscal and performance audits of all county agencies. This week, the
Last November, voters spoke loud and clear. By a three-to-one margin, they said they wanted a new office created to improve the county’s accountability, transparency and functionality by conducting fiscal and performance audits of all county agencies.
This week, the Kaua‘i County Council, which put this Charter amendment on the ballot, technically complied with that demand, albeit 10 months late, by appointing long-time Deputy County Clerk Ernie Pasion as the county’s first auditor in recent memory.
This seemingly fails to fall in line with the likely intent voters had when they passed the measure.
This is nothing personal against Pasion, who would make a fine auditor anywhere else. This is about him moving into his new role after serving as deputy county clerk here for the past 12 years. This unanimous appointment could be nothing more than a further consolidation of power, particularly within the legislative branch, but time will tell.
Pasion, who has been the right-hand man of County Clerk Peter Nakamura, will continue to serve at the council’s pleasure. Nakamura, more than arguably anyone else, runs the show at the Historic County Building. Did the council really do its due diligence in making this selection? It sure seems awfully interconnected.
Aside from having a degree in business administration and years of work as the chief financial officer at a major company, Pasion seems to lack any experience in the field of government auditing, evaluation or analysis. But what concerns us most is the person hired to oversee the functionality of the entire county government is already entrenched in it.
Councilmen Jay Furfaro and Daryl Kaneshiro said this week that Pasion’s experience inside Council Chambers was not a red flag but a boon because of his knowledge of the inner workings of how county government should work.
Watching the council operate hardly qualifies anybody as an expert on how local government should operate. We hope his experience with the county will assist him in going forward to improve our government’s accountability, transparency and functionality.
One poignant definition of insanity is to repeat the same behavior and expect different results. If residents are looking for an improved level of service from their government, they can’t simply shuffle the same people into new roles.
The drawbacks to having an overseer with too many connections are tremendous. If the county clerk misuses funds, can we really expect Pasion to do something about it? If the council is embroiled in a scandal, is Pasion the people’s representative? If the county attorney provides legal advice in bad faith, is Pasion going to investigate? He has the power but we have our concerns.
Pasion this week promised to do his part to uphold the law and fulfill his “mission” to hold our government accountable. While we think he’s a good, competent man, he’s only human. Nakamura has been his boss for years, the council has the power to remove him from office, and it’s human nature to resist biting the hand that’s fed you in the past, feeds you in the present, and promises to feed you for the foreseeable future.
We don’t suspect foul play or anything fishy from Pasion as county auditor. We simply question whether someone with truer autonomy — someone from outside this already overly intertwined county government — would be able to act more independently in such a critical office.
