The former state legislator complained he is being singled out by the commission and that his case has been mishandled.

The Campaign Spending Commission fined former state Rep. Kaniela Ing $18,000 Wednesday for failing to make records available to the commission and falsifying nearly two dozen campaign finance reports during his time as a state representative from 2012 to 2018.

Ing said during the four-hour hearing that he plans to contest the commission’s decision, which could result in another administrative hearing process that stretches the case out for months. He filed the petition for a contested case hearing Wednesday afternoon.

In a written statement following the hearing, Ing characterized the ruling as an “egregious abuse of power,” and said the case has become personal for the commission staff, who he called unprofessional and antagonistic.

“The ruling is an affront to the values of fairness and public trust the commission is charged to maintain,” he wrote.

Ing was previously fined and has since paid $20,000 for campaign spending violations in 2018 over misfiled reports. He was running for Congress that year, but all the commission fines are connected to his state legislative campaigns.

These new charges stem from additional violations commission staff say they found in Ing’s revised reports.

Commissioner Victor Bonfiglio was the lone no vote on the fines levied against Ing.

“I’m not going to vote for that, I think it’s too high,” Bonfiglio said.

He suggested reducing the fines to $100, but Executive Director Kristin Izumi-Nitao said that would send the wrong message to candidates and would “weaken compliance and transparency.”

‘The Law Is The Law’

Ing’s campaign finance troubles began again in December 2022, when the commission found that he failed to file a routine disclosure. It asked the Honolulu Prosecutor’s Office to take up the case, something the office agreed to do last year in a related matter.

That referral led to Ing pleading no contest in August to a misdemeanor charge of missing a deadline for filing a campaign spending report. But the prosecutor’s office declined prosecution over the latest allegations because it said the case could not be proved beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

The commission then decided at a public hearing in February to pursue civil fines.

The fine assessed by the commission Wednesday involved Ing’s revised campaign finance reports not matching his bank records from 2011 to 2016, as well as questionable expenses that commission staff say appeared to be for personal use. While not necessarily improper, supporting documentation is also required to link the expenses to campaign purposes.

The case was postponed several times to give Ing an opportunity to consult with his attorney. On Wednesday, Ing appeared alone.

Ing said that he just wants to be allowed to close his campaign account, and said he has had job offers rescinded because prospective employers found media reports regarding his previous campaign spending violations.

Ing told the commission that his goal is to “move on with life, raise my kids, advance my culture and support my community.”

Ing asked the commission to dismiss the complaint entirely, but commissioners unanimously rejected his request.

‘Relentless Prosecution’ Criticized

During the hearing, Ing raised what he saw as procedural issues with how the commission investigated the violations.

In a 12-page memo to the commission, he argued that he was no longer required to maintain records substantiating his campaign expenses from years ago and that the commission didn’t reach legal thresholds to bring fines against him.

He claimed he was being treated differently from other candidates, whose campaigns were given the opportunity to work out agreements with the commission for reduced fines. Izumi-Nitao pointed out this isn’t his first violation and that sort of agreement wouldn’t apply to this case.

“You’re not an attorney,” she said. “You’re cutting and pasting a bunch of laws together that do not make sense.”

Ing and his supporters believe he is being singled out.

“You’d think he was the poster child for political corruption and wrongdoing,” said Evan Weber, who co-founded the super PAC Our Hawaii with Ing. “This relentless prosecution for very small mistakes he made as a grassroots candidate defies common sense.”

The commissioners didn’t buy those arguments.

“We certainly want you to get beyond this and live your life free of this kind of stuff,” Commissioner Stanley Lum said. “But the law is the law, and you chose to enter this arena. And the law was broken. We’re not picking on you. We’re not isolating you. We’re not doing anything we wouldn’t do to anybody else.”

Commission staff said that it could work out a payment schedule with Ing, but that may be moot since he is contesting the fines.

Rules governing contested cases say the commission must now schedule another hearing to take up Ing’s petition, which will initiate proceedings similar to court hearings where Ing and the commission staff will be able to file motions and argue their cases. The process would be overseen by the five-member commission or a hearings officer.

The commission’s next meeting is scheduled for June 12.