Maui police chief’s allegations could affect mayoral race
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Maui voters have had a weekend to digest an allegation from Police Chief John Pelletier that Mayor Richard Bissen is under criminal investigation.
Read more Maui man killed in motorcycle crash
Pelletier offered no details. Experts say an unproven allegation late in a campaign can upend a close race.
Chief and mayor dispute timing and motive
Pelletier denies he was intentionally trying to impact the campaign between Bissen and his challenger, Maui County Council member Yuki Lei Sugimura.
“But I will tell you, it’s a felonious crime, and the mayor is the suspect,” Pelletier said at a press conference Friday.
“Any allegations made against me are false and again being brought up because of what’s going on in the campaign,” Bissen said in an interview Friday.
Hawaii News Now political analyst Colin Moore said the dispute is not good for the county.
“One thing you can take from this is that this is toxic,” Moore said. “I mean, you can’t have a mayor and police chief who are basically at war with each other in the media.”
Voters left without facts before Election Day
Dick Mayer, a retired University of Hawaiʻi Maui College professor, said the allegation adds confusion for voters.
“It’s going to muddy all the waters,” Mayer said. “People are going to become very uncertain about who’s telling the truth or if there is even a truth to all this.”
Pelletier brought up the investigation during a press conference where he accused the mayor of pressuring the police commission to put him on leave while his management was investigated.
Read more Mahi Pono plans major expansion of Maui-grown avocado production
Bissen and the commission deny the accusation.
Pelletier said he raised the investigation because the leave was an abuse of power, not because of the election.
“I’m not the one who picked the timing of this. I’m not the one who did this two weeks before the ballots dropped. That wasn’t me,” Pelletier said.
Candidates respond as election nears
Sugimura, Bissen’s opponent, has been boosted by hundreds of thousands of dollars in advertising from the carpenters union PAC.
Sugimura said she would not comment on any specific allegation but said, “It is vital to ensure the people of Maui County can trust that any criminal investigation is free from interference and bias.”
Mayer said the allegation is unlikely to help Bissen, “but I don’t think it will be dramatic enough to dissuade people from voting for him.”
Moore said he sees the most damage to Bissen among undecided voters, even though Bissen beat Sugimura in the primary.
“They’ll hear a rumor like this or they hear an accusation like this coming from the chief,” Moore said. “And it may cause them either just to stay home or to vote for Yuki Lei Sugimura. I mean, this is why this can be so damaging to campaigns.”
Many voters will fill out ballots this weekend. Three weeks remain until Election Day.
Read more How three same-sex couples helped change marriage law in Hawaii
Post Comment