hunterbishop.com

Mahalo to Hawaii Reporter for correctly reporting that state Rep. Dwight Takamine was not penalized (see "Ironworkers fined") for an illegal campaign contribution from the Ironworkers Union. You would not have been so sure if you only read the Stephens Media-owned dailies on the Big Island.

Hawaii Tribune-Herald and West Hawaii Today each reported twice about it but never said Takamine committed no campaign spending violations.

Takamine's campaign did receive a donation from the union, determined that it was more than allowed and promptly returned it as Campaign Spending Commission Executive Director Barabara U. Wong said:

The Friends discovered the excess contribution. They contacted Iron Workers, and they returned the excess contribution to Iron Workers within 30 days.

The union was fined $375 for its mistake and the Commission reduced the fine by 25 percent because the violation was self-reported. 

So how did the Tribune-Herald headline its first story? "Union money taints Takamine campaign ... Legislator faces finance violation."

That apparently resulted from an error in anonymous reporting. Stephens reporter Nancy Cook Lauer had reported that a commission attorney who didn't want to be identified said the campaign did not return the money within 30 days. Which was wrong. So was there a prominent correction?

No, there was a followup story which changed the facts in the first story without explanation until two or three paragraphs from the bottom (depending on which online version you read) where Lauer acknowledged that the anonymous attorney had said something different the day before. But it was couched this way:

Takamine said the campaign returned the excess contribution May 2. An article Wednesday reported a commission attorney saying it wasn't within the 30-day period.

Lauer never said that what the anonymous attorney reportedly told her was wrong. And by repeating it she let it cast further doubt on Takamine's statement in the same paragraph.

Nowhere in any version of the Stephens stories does it make clear that Takamine did nothing wrong except when Lauer quotes Takamine himself denying he committed any violations. That's the reporting equivalent of rolling your eyes when the newspaper won't acknowledge the fact that he did nothing wrong after publishing statements and headlines suggesting he did.

West Hawaii Today, the other Stephens Media-owned daily on the Big Island, published this patently false headline on the first Lauer story: "Takamine campaign charged with finance violation."  I didn't see a correction.

Sanctimonious Ted Hong, Takamine's Republican opponent for the state Senate District 1 seat, said, "This incident is an example of the influence that outside special interest groups have on the outcome of a local election."

Oh my! What about the influence that inside special interest groups, such as the Lingle administration, has on Hong's campaign?

Lauer also wrote this curious statement:

Takamine, a popular lawmaker with deep roots in the district and strong support from majority Democrats and unions, is favored to win what threatens to become an ugly contest.

Screeeech! Whoa! Ugly contest? Who's threatening to make it an ugly contest? Ted Hong? Gov. Lingle? The Tribune-Herald?

Nothing else was said about it.

Update on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 09:04PM by Hunter Bishop

I just noticed that I erred in transcribing the headline from the West Hawaii Today story linked to above and have corrected it.