Transcripts of Hawaii, 2008, SB1789 Testimony re: Excluding Public Access Community Television Contracts from Procurement Code clearly show that Akaku: Maui Community Television's Chairman of the Board of Directors, John Bruce, fails to disclose a direct conflict of interest, to the Hawaii State Senators presiding over the February 26, 2008 Senate Committee hearing.
In fact, while a count of the thirty-two testifiers in favor of SB1789 shows that at least thirty testifiers in favor of this bill have a direct conflict of interest, either as a board director, executive officer, employee, staff member, intern or a producer that receives privileged access to facilities, compensation direct and/or otherwise, it appears that several employees/staff members of Akaku: Maui Community Television followed the example of Akaku Chairman of the Board, John Bruce when these Akaku staffers identified themselves as residents of Maui County, and then failed to disclose their employment status, and/or other pre-existing relationship with Akaku: Maui Community Television during their testimony to the Senate Committee.
So, after years long of lobbying, public relations, lawsuits under the "leadership" of Akaku: Maui Community Television Former Chairman of the Board and CEO/Presidente John "Jay" April and the "counsel" of "Parlimentarian" to the Akaku: Maui Community Television Board of Directors, preempting and overwriting normally scheduled Public Access Community Television programming with televised propoganda in support of legislation, text scrolls instructing viewers to call their representatives and Senators and to testify, and pro-legislation form letters on the Akaku: Maui Community Television Web Site, ready to send to elected State representatives with a single click...only thirty-two people provided testimony in support of this legislation, and thirty of them are directors, executives, employees, staff, interns and producers of the State of Hawaii's incumbent PEG Access Organizations themselves.
The only thirty people of the 70,000+ residents of Maui County alone, to have testified in support of excluding Public Access Television from Public Procurement are the employees/staffers/interns and producers of afraid of losing their access and in some cases, their jobs. No wonder Mr. Bruce objects to scrutiny.
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