• The missing debate

• Invasion from within

•Just another reason

The missing debate

Residents are being deprived of a valuable learning experience in the form of a public debate between two officers of comparable legal standing about the meaning and relevance of Charter 20.02(d).

Experienced attorney Paul Weil was appointed to the Board of Ethics this year. He is one of the rare attorneys appointed to a board or commission from outside the circle of attorneys who pass through the revolving door between government and the private sector and who can be counted on not to rock the boat.

Weil has courteously and repeatedly asked County Attorney Al Castillo to (1) revisit the “fatally flawed” March 2008 opinion that was used by the board to justify its decision to allow attorney Jonathan Chun to continue representing clients before county agencies, and (2) to provide a new written opinion as to the validity of that opinion, which would necessarily include a statement about 20.02(d) and County Code 3-1.7.

Complying with Weil’s request would set the stage for a debate that would serve the public interest as well as the interest of the board. But, except for an opinion prepared at the last minute by a deputy substituting for the regular deputy that the board rejected in July, Castillo has refused to put his views in writing and/or provide a statutory and legally sound foundation for his views. On Aug. 13 he told the board they will get nothing beyond his oral “almost total agreement” with the March 2008 opinion.

Castillo initially made a public show of trying to co-opt Weil, addressing him as “Sir Paul,” assuring him that he was “on the team,” telling Weil that he agreed with him even as Weil expressed disagreement with Castillo, and inviting him to discuss issues in private — all presumably in the belief that controlling the board would be easy if he succeeded in co-opting Weil.

When Weil persisted with his questions and invitations to debate, Castillo essentially wrote him off along with anyone else brash enough to question his views or his authoritarian claims.

Transparency apparently means to our county attorney that he appears in public to deliver binding pronouncements. That pattern of behavior denies the importance of public debate, which is an integral feature of democratic processes and an educational resource for everyone. And it costs a lot less than lawsuits.

For the record, I did not discuss this letter with Paul Weil before sending it.

Horace Stoessel, Kapa‘a

Invasion from within

Everytime I read about how Hawai‘i was “invaded and stolen for profit and power” I hope that Hawaiians know that this invasion happened from within.

It was residents (born here, too) who “took over” the kingdom and it was resident business that masterminded statehood.

In the 1990s I lived near Mr. Jack Fox who was an employee of C&H 50-plus years ago. He was paid by them to lobby for statehood for Hawai‘i and firmly believed that this was the best thing for Hawai‘i. According to Jack, Hawai‘i was a small territory with little to offer a big country that it didn’t already have.

Hawaiian sugar needed the market in the U.S. Becoming a state would encourage more Mainlanders to become tourists to Hawai‘i since they wouldn’t be visiting a “foreign” country. Hawai‘i would get two senators (1/50 of the power) and full rights for its citizens.

Statehood was not an easy sell and took two years of effort on his part.

Regardless of how one feels about Hawai‘i becoming a state, we must admit that this was not initiated by the U.S. government as a power grab or a profit grab.

Marjorie Gifford, Princeville

Just another reason

I am so laughing (“What’s the holdup?,” The Garden Island, Aug. 24).

Inclement weather is to blame for the delay, said Ray McCormick, the state Department of Transportation’s district engineer for Kaua‘i.

Inclement weather? This is Hawai‘i — summertime temperatures average 75 degrees and a little rain. No snow and sleet, flooding, hurricanes (to date), dust storms, below zero temperatures, or 115 degree days.

I am doubled over with amusement. It would be equally hysterical to find out  if anyone drew a salary or was paid wages during this inclement weather — and what for, yeah?

Meanwhile, a tree trimming company from the Mainland has been working eight to 10 hour a day regularly and in the rain — I know because I saw and talked to them.

This (DOT response) isn’t accountability — it would be an insult if it wasn’t so humorous. Just another reason why a job didn’t get done.

Mark Bedford, Anahola