On Oct. 3, 2005, eight open government and journalists organizations filed a lawsuit in First Circuit Court seeking to stop the Honolulu City Council from holding secret one-on-one meetings on Council
business. The plaintiffs are asking the court to enforce an August 4th Office of Information
Practices ruling that this practice violates the state Sunshine Law.
The complaint alleges that the Honolulu City Council conducted a series of secret
meetings, limited to two council members each, to discuss and reach preliminary agreement on
Resolution No. 05-243 which was adopted on July 13, 2005. The plaintiffs ask the court to rule
that this practice is illegal.
Attorneys Jeffrey Portnoy and Elijah Yip of the Cades Schutte law firm filed the lawsuit on
behalf of the plaintiffs in the circuit court of the First Judicial Circuit. Portnoy said, “It is clear that
a series of secret one-on-one meetings that reaches a rolling quorum violates the intent and
spirit of Hawaii's open meetings law.”
The group of plaintiffs includes the Right To Know Committee, League of Women Voters
of Hawaii, Citizen Voice, Hawaii Pro-Democracy Initiative, Big Island Press Club, Society of
Professional Journalists – Hawaii Chapter, SPJ University of Hawaii Chapter, and Honolulu
Community-Media Council.
Speaking for the plaintiffs group, Stirling Morita, FOI Committee chair for the Hawaii
chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, said “We hope this suit will signal to government
that this type of backroom vote-gathering will not be tolerated. Our fear is that this will
become a widespread practice shutting out the public from discussions and decisions on
issues.”
"Too bad this lawsuit is necessary," according to journalism educator Beverly Keever,
Right To Know Chair. "Gov. Linda Lingle, who campaigned on restoring public trust in government,
should have instructed her attorney general to enforce the Sunshine Law as the Office of
Information Practices correctly interpreted it so that the public's business would be conducted in
meetings open to the public."
Sue Irvine, president of the League of Women Voters of Hawaii, said, “When a government
board skirts around the sunshine law, the attorney general or OIP should stop it. Citizens
shouldn't have to do government's job. If it weren't for Messrs. Portnoy and Yip of Cades
Schutte providing their services, we wouldn't be able to take legal action.”
Peter M. Bower said, "Continued reluctance to be open in its deliberations and decisions
in the public's name is exactly why we became an independent nation. A lack of openness does
not lend itself to our community's experiencing of democracy."
Chris Loos, president of the Big Island Press Club, said her club joined the lawsuit
because the neighbor islands have the same problem. "We want to stop it now," she said.
Beth-Ann Kozlovich, president of the Honolulu Community-Media Council, said, “Unfortunately,
taxpayers may have to pay to force the City Council to follow the law. That’s because the
defendants will pay for the cost of the lawsuit if the court enforces the law.”
Leah Gouker, a senior journalism student and treasurer of SPJ U.H. Chapter, said, "The
Sunshine Law was designed to protect the public by maintaining openness in the government. I
feel it is of utmost importance to raise this issue, and that the public stand up against actions
that violate the spirit of the Sunshine Law."
For more information on the plaintiffs, contact Stirling Morita at 529-4755 or 839-5021 or go to: http://spj@flex.com
