An ethics panel has reprimanded and fined state Sen. Brenton Awa for using state resources to encourage voters to elect his former office manager to the Legislature.
The Hawai‘i State Ethics Commission on Wednesday issued a final ruling against Awa (R, Kaneohe-Laie-
Mokuleia) with a $999.99 fine for a social media video he made in his office at the state Capitol that in part promoted his then-office manager Samantha DeCorte for a state Senate seat days before Hawaii’s Nov. 5, 2024, general election.
Awa on Thursday continued to refute that he violated the law, and suggested that the pursuit of the case may be political in a state dominated by Democrats in office.
He also said he can’t afford to pay the fine, which is due within 10 days of the decision, and hasn’t decided whether to appeal in court.
“The first thought I had
really was like, ‘Shoot. I wanted to get my kids Christmas bikes, but now I’ve got a $999 fine,’ ” Awa said. “I looked at my bank account and … there’s not even enough to cover that.”
The commission began investigating the Oct. 30, 2024, video Awa put on his personal Instagram account within days of its posting, and a day before the election asked him to take it down on grounds that it allegedly violated state ethics law by using his legislative office, staff and state time for a campaign purpose.
In response, Awa posted another video filmed in his office in which he suggested the investigation wasn’t worth the taxpayer expense, and described his response to the commission’s request to remove the video about DeCorte.
“We told them no,” he said. “We don’t tolerate
bullying.”
During a Nov. 3 contested case hearing held by the commission that followed an Aug. 20 violation notice, Awa said his intent with the video was to publicly explain why his office manager was leaving her job.
DeCorte, a Republican, was competing against Democrat Cedric Gates, who left his seat in the House of Representatives in a bid to fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Sen. Maile Shimabukuro (D, Nanakuli-Waianae-Makaha).
“A tough day at the office today,” Awa said in the video that began outside his office. “I had to let one of my staffers go, not because she’s
doing a bad job, but because she’s doing too good of a job. Her community out in Waianae wants to make her their senator. She’s on the ballot. Election day is Tuesday. She really wants to get on these videos though, so help me wish her a big thank you for all the work that she’s done in our office.”
After opening his office door, Awa addressed DeCorte at her desk, “Hey, last day on the job. How’s it feel to be getting fired?”
“Ah, well, at least I won’t be shoveling fish guts anymore. So, happy about that,” DeCorte replied.
After praising DeCorte for her work, Awa added that “getting Sam in as Waianae senator” would unlock full potential in both communities and the state.
“Sam, any last words?” Awa asked, to which
DeCorte said, “This Tuesday. Election Day. Kapolei Hale.”
Awa then ended the video by saying, “You guys know what to do. Aloha.”
DeCorte beat Gates by winning about 55% of roughly 12,600 votes cast.
The commission concluded that state employees may thank a staff member on their last day of service without running afoul of the ethics code, but that encouraging the public to vote for DeCorte during the workday in a state office violated
Hawaii’s Fair Treatment law prohibiting state officials and employees from using state resources for political campaign purposes.
“In our view, the facts indicated that the legislator had overstepped the bounds set by the ethics code,” the commission said in its written order. “Whether it had been intended or not, in
reality, campaign material had been produced by the legislator’s legislative staff while on state time.”
The commission’s order also said, “The video in this case was basically a campaign ad that was filmed in a legislative office at the State Capitol, with the use of legislative staff on state time.”
The decision was rendered by commissioners Wesley F. Fong, Robert Hong, Cynthia Thielen and Roderick Becker. A fifth
commissioner, Moya Gray, was appointed after the
contested case.
An administrative fine up to $5,000 could have been imposed.
Awa, a former TV journalist elected to the Senate in 2022, said on Thursday that the commission has previously investigated complaints against him for making social media videos about legislative issues that did not result in violation
decisions.
During the contested
case hearing over the video about DeCorte, Awa told commissioners he didn’t expect to change their position. And on Thursday, he said his view hasn’t changed either.
“I got all these commissioners who have things to do with their life who are sitting there to listen to me talk about this thing that, at the end of the day, I don’t believe was breaking the rules,” Awa said. “The fine that they gave me won’t change how I look at it.”
