Don Couch

Anthony Ranken “Viewpoint,” October 13, 2010, Maui News

Two years ago, at the time and place required by the County Charter, Maui County Council candidate Wayne Nishiki failed to disclose his $100,000 unsecured personal loan from Everett Dowling, our community’s best-known developer.

Nishiki now says that what he did in the last election is old news and chastises his opponent for bringing it up. But when it comes to the ethics of an elected representative, there is no statute of limitations, and this is the first time Nishiki has faced the voters since the story broke.

While the Maui County Board of Ethics did not pursue impeachment of Council Member Nishiki, it did not exonerate him either. His second-place finish in the Sept. 18 primary implies the issue remains a concern for many voters.

The loan itself was not illegal but it clearly would have been of interest to voters in the 2008 election. What was illegal was the late filing of the statement disclosing the loan. Candidate Nishiki’s financial disclosure was submitted to the county 2 months late – after the primary election and so near to the general election that it did not come to light until after Nishiki won that close contest.

Equally troubling is that Mr. Nishiki refused and still refuses to publicly answer basic questions about the affair. Council Member Nishiki champions the Sunshine Law when it comes to considering developers’ proposals, but he kept his business with this particular developer in the dark. At Mr. Nishiki’s request, the Board of Ethics investigation was closed to the public and to reporters. Nishiki has taken the position that his privacy outweighs his constituents’ desire for a full explanation of the loan and of his delay in disclosing it.

It is logical to wonder whether Mr. Nishiki, instead of being merely forgetful or disorganized, may have procrastinated in filing the disclosure form because he was embarrassed about what it would reveal. Only by answering questions publicly and releasing the existing transcript of the closed Board of Ethics meeting can Mr. Nishiki give the voters the information they would need in order to determine whether his conduct was devious or merely careless.

If Mr. Nishiki wants to convince skeptical voters that his conduct in the 2008 election was innocent, he should release the transcript and then submit to a follow-up interview with The Maui News. By publicly addressing the lingering questions, Mr. Nishiki might have the chance to restore community confidence in his character and integrity.

Among the unanswered questions:

* After missing the legal deadline, Mr. Nishiki received some half-dozen reminders from the secretary of the Board of Ethics before the final warning letter. The disclosure form is not complicated and Nishiki was familiar with it. So what exactly caused him to fail to respond each of those times?

* Since Mr. Nishiki states he does not meet with developers, what were the circumstances under which he became so close to Mr. Dowling that an unsecured personal note of $100,000 was provided upon request?

* What was the purpose of the loan? Mr. Nishiki has stated both that it was for his farmers market and that it was to give to his daughter for her business. And why did he need a loan, when his financial disclosure reflected that the year before he had received $200,000 cash back on a mortgage for his condominium unit, a condo that he reports was sold to him in 2007 for less than a third of its market value?

There is a reason that candidates and officeholders are required to disclose financial information. In his attacks against his opponent, Nishiki himself has emphasized the importance of monetary contributions. So why not step forward at this time and clarify his own financial ties?

Mr. Nishiki, as council member you’ve done your job as a watchdog for the people. Now, please give the people the information we need to do our job as voters.

* Attorney Anthony Ranken is a former chairman of the Maui County Board of Ethics. He has written this Viewpoint in his private capacity, as a citizen who supported Wayne Nishiki in many prior elections.

SENATOR DAN INOUYE ENDORSES DON COUCH FOR SOUTH MAUI COUNCIL SEAT

Speaking before an enthusiastic crowd of 200 people at a rally at the VFW Kihei Clubhouse Senator Daniel Inouye asked Don Couch, candidate for the South Maui Council seat, to come onto the stage and stand with the Senator as he urged the crowd to support Couch in his race against long time politician Wayne Nishiki.

“Don Couch is not a politician,” said Inouye. “Don is for the people. He’s for jobs for you and for the best health care for you.”

“I am deeply gratified by the endorsement of Senator Inouye. He is a hero to all of us on Maui and has served his country in war and peace with honor and dignity. His support of my campaign is another indication of the importance of this election and the critical need to move forward with real change and not get mired in the politics of the past,” said Couch.

“I look forward to supporting Senator Inouye in his efforts, and I applaud his record of caring for the working families of Maui County,” added Couch.

Political observers noted that the move by Senator Inouye was not completely unexpected. After speaking earlier in the day at a function sponsored by the Democratic Century Club the Senator asked Couch to stay and speak with him and told associates that Don was the best man for the job.

Senator Inouye & Don Couch

Mayor Alan Arakawa’s executive assistant, Don Couch, drives an environment-friendly hybrid automobile and his other car is far from a limo, too.

by: Joseph W. Bean

Back in early June I came across the surprising fact that Don Couch drives a hybrid car. I admit it: The surprise was that, like everyone I know, I thought of this kind of eco-thoughtfulness as Democratic, almost by definition.

I’ve been hearing about these cars for a while, just like you, but I didn’t know anyone who actually drove one. I took a picture of Couch and his wife, Leslie, a former Maui Weekly employee, with their car for the Movers and Shakers column. I also promised myself I’d find out more about the car soon, and write about it.

Next time I ran into Couch and his car -a Toyota Prius- he was taking a day off from his job at the County Building to help sign people up for the Hawai’i Prescription Plus program in both Kihei and Lahaina.

The Prius had been turned into a campaign-mobile by then, but I figured the story could be told, politics notwithstanding. The Don Couch story is a little touchy to have outside the campaign news section right now. The car is running for no office. So let me tell you how great it is.

The famous thing is that it pollutes so much less because it runs mostly on a permanent-magnet, AC-synchronous motor that is rated at 67 horsepower. The less famous thing is the cool internal combustion engine it uses for starting and special conditions: aluminum, double overhead cam, 16 valves and four cylinders. Then there’s the interior space which is huge for a five-passenger car, both in the passenger space (96.2 cubic feet) and the luggage space (16.1 cubic feet). All of which pales when you notice the Prius is also a handsome, streamlined design.

The mileage is impressive, even if the savings on gas takes a very long time to recoup when you consider that the hybrid car costs $2,000 to $6,000 more than comparable all-gas vehicles. Still, the official rating of up to 60 miles per gallon (60/51/55) looks good beside 33 for the Camry, 36 for the Matrix and even 40 for the Corolla.

Granted, it’s all good, but how do drivers who actually have experience with the hybrids feel about them? Betty Beggs, a Kihei community activist, doesn’t own one, but she spent five weeks with one on the Mainland, and she was “very impressed.” Don and Leslie Couch have had theirs since March 1, and they’re still excited about it.

When I asked Couch, “What’s your other car?” I was ready to hear of something big and flashy -don’t ask why- but no. “Geo Metro,” he said.

I guess that while Don was out signing up people for the state prescription discount plan, Leslie was driving the Geo.

Wondering what the Prius replaced? “It was a Mercury Tracer. We drove it till it died,” Couch said. “Well, we drove it till it almost died, then we donated it to the Kidney Foundation.”

Couch is a big man, Leslie is pretty small, but they both love the very unusual seats in the Prius. They were sure they wouldn’t find a car that would please them and inspire them to put out the money new cars cost, but Couch saw the Prius in Las Vegas (Says he was there on business.) and test drove it on a hill, thinking of Haleakala. He liked the performance. Then Leslie got to test drive one on O’ahu. She was sold too. The waiting list to get a Prius anywhere was months long… except that there was this one deep red one on Maui that people were bypassing for some reason.

“Red, Don?” the salesman asked.

“Yeah, OK, if Leslie likes it.” So he e-mailed her a picture of the car and asked, “Red, Leslie?” Apparently, she said something like, “Yeah, sure.”

The good news is that while other people were paying premium prices for their cars, the Couches got their Prius at the manufacturer’s suggested retail, flat, because no one else was bidding on the red one.

Granted, air pollution is hardly a problem on Maui thanks to the trade winds, but we can still contribute less to the world’s burden of polluting gases. We can still fight back about imported oil for gas production by using less gas. We can certainly be pleased by another feature of the hybrid car in our island paradise: When it’s running on its electric motor, it makes no noise at all.

There are a dozen other forward-looking features of the Prius, but you can look into those when you go check out the cars. You’ll really be amazed about some of them. Ask the salesman right away why you don’t need to use your key to start the car.

As I said above, it’s all good.