Fevella Sues HART Over Its Changes To Voting Rules
The West Oahu legislator has become an especially vocal critic of the local rail agency.
The Hawaii state Senator who represents Ewa Beach is suing the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation over its board’s recent maneuver to change voting and quorum rules.
Kurt Fevella filed his Oct. 29 complaint in a non-official capacity – the suit lists him as “a resident of the City and County of Honolulu.”
However, the West Oahu lawmaker has emerged this year as an especially vocal critic of HART, after questions were raised over how the rail agency handled recent lucrative consulting contracts.
The suit in state court aims to force the HART board to return to its previous voting rules, which required eight of the nine voting members to vote “yes” in order to take action.
At a July 29 meeting, the board emerged from a closed-door session and its interim chairman, Hoyt Zia, declared that the board, after being consulted in private by the city’s Corporation Counsel, could now pass items with just six votes. The unilateral move drew the ire of Zia’s colleague on the volunteer board, Kika Bukoski.
Critics also questioned whether the move was appropriate since it had not been included on the meeting’s agenda and the public didn’t have a chance to comment.
Fevella’s complaint also seeks attorney fees and “general damages.” Read it here:
