Blame it on the county being tight-lipped about its “investigation” into county worker internet usage. Because the mayor and his public information officer Hunter Bishop will not provide the public with more information other than 1. the county has a two-year-old program tracking internet usage and 2. they are not going to tolerate illegal activity on county computers, we are all left to our imaginations. And doing our own digging for the details of this “investigation.”
Now the mayor himself is the subject of the controversy. Apparently, while running for mayor, in April 2007, Billy Kenoi reportedly registered his website, www.billykenoi.com, on GoDaddy.com using his county snail mail and email addresses as the executive assistant to the mayor.
Billy Kenoi told West Hawaii Today Hilo Bureau Chief Nancy Cook Lauer Monday that this was “news to him.” His campaign paid Puna consultant Kate Almony $1,500 to design a web site and campaign ad, according to a Campaign Spending Commission report.
“At the time, we just didn’t know what to put, I guess,” Almony said. What about his home address and personal email?
The use of county funds or equipment for finance purposes is a violation of county ordinances and is subject to penalities and administrative fines up to $1,000 per violation.
I wonder if the mayor himself is going to be fined.
Seems to me like the “investigation” is about a lot more serious matters, though. Sure wish the county would hold a press conference and let us all in on what is going on. The investigation reportedly goes back to January 2008 and includes the potentially illegal use of county computers for political purposes.
Is this just about politics?
Or do we have county workers visiting pornography sites? There is a lot being left to conjecture at this point.
April 21st, 2009 at 10:47 am
Sure it’s wrong to use county computers for personal affairs. Hawaii County is probably only a few years behind the rest of the world in technical matters (but catching up quickly).
I would like to see an “internet use” policy enforced, but amnesty should be granted to our technically challenged employees who succumbed to temptation while the policy was first implemented.
Look at it as “computer training”.
April 21st, 2009 at 11:30 am
There are “personal affairs”, private email to a friend or spouse? one or two shopping purchases?
What about for “political purposes”? e.g., to set up a political website or to make a political pitch on a local blog.
Or, for financial gain? e.g., Selling stuff on e-bay or craigslist.
There is a lot of gray area and a lot of new territory here. However, there is also a good bit of clear demarcation between “learning” and being downright abusive.
April 21st, 2009 at 3:02 pm
Received this from Public Information Officer Hunter Bishop at 10:07 a.m.:
“Tiffany,
I don’t have any answers to your questions on the continuing Internet investigation. However the error in listing contact information in the application to GoDaddy for the Mayor’s campaign Web site is unrelated to the investigation of county Internet abuse. The two matters are quite different.
Listing the county e-mail and office addresses as contacts was an administrative mistake made by professionals who were hired to set up the
campaign Web site. The Mayor accepts responsibility for that. But in no way did it involve misuse or abuse of Internet Web sites on county time or equipment, nor did it involve the use or misuse of any public funds. It’s hard to imagine how any reasonable person could make a connection between the county’s ongoing investigation of Internet abuse and the campaign’s
mistake in filing for its Web site.
Let me know if you have any additional questions. Aloha,
Hunter”
April 21st, 2009 at 3:30 pm
Hunter,
I think you would not be so understanding if this was a candidate not of your choosing.
I don’t see this as abuse, only as a really dumb mistake. But I still think you would go all out if it was someone you didn’t support.
Kim
April 21st, 2009 at 3:55 pm
“…It’s hard to imagine how any reasonable person could make a connection between the county’s ongoing investigation of Internet abuse and the campaign’s
mistake in filing for its Web site…”
Mr. Bishop… we the public don’t know what’s going on. We are making assumptions ONLY BECAUSE WE ARE NOT BEING TOLD What is going on.
For me… It’s hard to swallow that Mayor Kenoi spent $1,500 on something I could have set up for free using an email account affiliated with the county.
I don’t doubt that it was an honest mistake.
However, should mistakes go left unpunished?
April 21st, 2009 at 4:06 pm
Perhaps Bily should ask his consultant for a refund?
I think this is going no where fast, but if the county does not have a well spelled otutpolicy, abuse is probable.
But don’t blame the conty. Look at Gov. Lingle’s number one man using his internet to solicit girliesin Manila, the contents of whicvh some federal judge has secreted. Look at our former state tourism promotions chief and his repeated use of his computer for porn and racial exchanges. The best we can hope is that a well articulated policy evolves — asap.
Meanwhile, the privately held company that I worked for 31 years never told me how I could or could not use the computer, except for meeting deadlines, I was issued. So it is a vast hole out there. Poor judgment does not equal a scandal as some would suggest.
April 21st, 2009 at 4:45 pm
You’re correct Dr. weatherford about the threshold between learning curve, ambiguous policy, and downright abuse.
I believe the software should have an accurate log, and we’ll see how it all shakes out.
April 21st, 2009 at 5:24 pm
The “connection between the county’s ongoing investigation of Internet abuse and the campaign’s
mistake in filing for its Web site”?
Mostly it is about deeds and words. The Mayor came down hard on implications of the investigation and it was simultaneously revealed (by whom?) that his own public contact information (but not the County computer, phone, or mail service?) had been used where it shouldn’t be.
April 21st, 2009 at 5:27 pm
[...] a related note, Hunter Bishop e-mailed Tiffany Edwards Hunt this official response to this revelation [...]
April 21st, 2009 at 5:28 pm
[...] a related note, Hunter Bishop e-mailed Tiffany Edwards Hunt this official response to this revelation [...]
April 21st, 2009 at 8:06 pm
http://tinyurl.com/dgzte9
Still think Kenoi didn’t know anything about the site? Yeah right!
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:46 am
While I’m sure that Billy wishes now that he had checked the contact information for his campaign web site, does anyone (other than Damon) really think that it was intentional? I for one believe he is much smarter than that and that it was a matter of carelessness, and nothing more. What did he stand to gain from it? Not having to check his mail at home or use minutes on his personal cell phone?
Once again, Damon takes advantage of a situation for shameless self-promotion.
April 22nd, 2009 at 5:56 pm
Dave,
You’re probably right” “it was a matter of carelessness”.
That, in this or any other situation, does not absolve anyone of legal wrongdoing. The imperative remains for all of us, and certainly public officials, to bear responsibility for actions — careless or careful.
That said, if Mr Kenoi did not actually use the public communications — phone, mail, email — for his campaign or other non-government business then there appears to be not much of a problem here.
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:38 pm
I didn’t say it was “intentional”.
I said:
“Still think Kenoi didn’t know anything about the site? Yeah right!”
What I mean by this… is that I think Kenoi knows a lot more about this site then he is letting on to.
I’m assuming he signed off on the final agreement that Ms. Almony has on her website regarding sites that she builds. Part of her CV does say that she is into “political advertising.”
I would assume that she should know better if she was experienced then to put a candidates place of employment down as his information contact.
He’s a lawyer… He knows he should be reading all small print… part of that is where he signs off where he is getting billed for the site and contact information.
I’m not saying he intentionally did it… But the excuse he is making does not fly with me personally.
The whole issue is pretty manini. But if you hold county workers to a rule… you should hold them all to it.
Or do we just go with a system that allows for mistakes w/out repercussions?
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:59 pm
Carelessness can mean the difference between an A and a B. It can also get one fired. But it’s looking like it doesn’t matter in this case.
April 24th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Damon, let’s not mince words. You’re saying that Billy DID know about the site, correct? If you’re not implying that makes it intentional, what does that leave? Amnesia?
James, did I say it absolved Billy of legal wrongdoing? I have posted on several occasions that no matter whose mistake it was I believe he is responsible for the matter, and he has been quoted as saying that he does take responsibility for it.
April 24th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
You betcha… nail those responsible by error, ignorance or whatever, and fine ‘em! the county needs the money.
April 26th, 2009 at 11:49 am
[...] Tucker uncovered this statement from Hawaii County Corporation Counsel Lincoln Ashida about the Hawaii County employee Internet scandal. Doug at Poinography raises a excellent point about this statement here that the county will likely [...]
April 27th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
[...] I received this e-mail from Hawaii County Corporation Counsel Lincoln Ashida about the Hawaii County employee Internet scandal.He also sent me a copy of Hawaii County’s e-mail and Internet usage [...]
April 27th, 2009 at 7:06 pm
[...] I received this e-mail from Hawaii County Corporation Counsel Lincoln Ashida about the Hawaii County employee Internet scandal.He also sent me a copy of Hawaii County’s e-mail and Internet usage [...]
April 27th, 2009 at 7:18 pm
[...] I received this e-mail from Hawaii County Corporation Counsel Lincoln Ashida about the Hawaii County employee Internet scandal.He also sent me a copy of Hawaii County’s e-mail and Internet usage [...]
April 27th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
[...] I received this e-mail from Hawaii County Corporation Counsel Lincoln Ashida about the Hawaii County employee Internet scandal.He also sent me a copy of Hawaii County’s e-mail and Internet usage [...]
April 27th, 2009 at 7:28 pm
[...] I received this e-mail from Hawaii County Corporation Counsel Lincoln Ashida about the Hawaii County employee Internet scandal.He also sent me a copy of Hawaii County’s e-mail and Internet usage [...]
April 27th, 2009 at 8:04 pm
[...] I received this e-mail from Hawaii County Corporation Counsel Lincoln Ashida about the Hawaii County employee Internet scandal.He also sent me a copy of Hawaii County’s e-mail and Internet usage [...]
April 29th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
[...] RJ Mendoza for pointed out this HTH article about the latest in the Hawaii County employee Internet scandal.It looks like there might be an initial release of county employee Internet usage data by late May. [...]
May 5th, 2009 at 9:22 pm
[...] writing a lot about the County of Hawaii’s worker internet usage investigation (here, here, here, here, and here). The last time I wrote about it was Monday, April 27, 2009, quoting from an email [...]