Harimoto: Strip Berg's Voting Rights Until He Calms Down
12/01/2011
Adrienne LaFrance/Civil Beat
The clash between two Honolulu City Council freshmen has escalated into a public confrontation that has forced the Council chair to referee.
The problems ramped up at a Transportation Committee meeting on Nov. 17 when Breene Harimoto became irritated at Tom Berg over Berg's insistence on straying off topic.
Now, the animosity between the two has led Harimoto to demand that Berg's voting rights be revoked until he gets his act together.
The Transportation Committee agenda that Thursday afternoon contained three items: a federal grant application for mobility programs; a "complete streets" ordinance that would make Oahu's roads more pedestrian- and bike-friendly; and a Joint Traffic Management Center.
Berg was fired up, and he used those items to pivot to some of his pet issues, namely the Honolulu rail project and the Leeward Bikeway. Some of the segues were tenuous, but Berg rambled, ranted and raved, as he frequently does.
The frustration was painted all over Committee Chair Harimoto's face.
He pleaded with Berg to stay on track, citing the Sunshine Law's requirement that all discussion items be on the agenda. Exasperated, he looked to his colleagues for guidance. He repeatedly threatened, gavel poised, to recess the meeting.
In the weeks since that meeting, the public has learned that Berg's combative day continued that night at the Waipahu Neighborhood Board meeting, where the police were called. On Wednesday, seemingly every media outlet in Hawaii reported that police had been called a few days before the meeting when Berg, reeking of alcohol, was arguing with Secret Service agents at APEC.
Now we've also learned that Harimoto's frustrations with Berg haven't subsided. In a letter sent to Council Chair Ernie Martin, Harimoto described those events and others and requested that Berg be removed as a voting member of all Council committees.
"I ask that you take this action to impress upon him the seriousness of the situation and to give the public some assurance that the Council does not condone such behavior," Harimoto wrote to Martin on Nov. 23.
Read the full letter, as well as Harimoto's Nov. 22 letter to the Honolulu Neighborhood Commission in which he raised similar concerns:
