Rod Tam

[11/2/11] Rod Tam sentenced to two days of jail

[11/25/10] City Councilman Rod Tam pleaded guilty yesterday to 26 misdemeanor counts of theft and falsifying documents, and for the first time admitted to overcharging the city for meals unrelated to his work as a Council member.

The guilty pleas came eight months after Tam admitted no wrongdoing but agreed to pay $11,700 in restitution and a $2,000 civil fine over allegations by the city Ethics Commission.

The commission said Tam improperly used his Council contingency fund for hundreds of personal meals -- totaling more than $22,000 -- unrelated to his city work.

Tam was unavailable for comment, but issued a written statement saying he was responding to the charges "out of embarrassment."

"Pursuant to compromise, I have pleaded guilty to a variety of petty misdemeanors and misdemeanors," Tam said. "I submitted vouchers that exceeded actual bill amounts. I also submitted vouchers that were below actual billing amounts.

"I should have practiced better bookkeeping methods. I take full responsibility and deeply apologize for my mistakes."

Tam previously admitted only to sloppy record-keeping and faulty math, while arguing that the rules covering discretionary expenses of Council members needed to be clarified.

Tam is completing his second four-year term on the Council, after serving nearly two decades in the state Legislature.

He is perhaps best known from his time in the Legislature for introducing a bill to provide naps and snacks for public workers and more recently for a bill in the City Council that would have allowed bus drivers to ban riders emitting offensive body odor.

[9/17/10] Why would you invite Rod Tam to a debate?

The same reason you'd put Paul Lynde in the center square or have Paula Abdul as a talent judge or book Dennis Rodman and his dress for an awards banquet.

Same reason you'd write a column about him.

He's a sideshow. He's a clown. He's for entertainment purposes only. You can count on Tam to sprinkle the goofy powder on an otherwise bland event.

The question is, why would anyone vote for him?

Tuesday night's mayoral debate on KGMB featured front-runner Peter Carlisle, acting Mayor Kirk Caldwell and last election's spirited underdog, Panos Prevedouros.

Rod Tam was just there for laughs. And, like he always does, he came through for the crowd.

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Sometimes writing about Rod Tam feels like shooting fish in a barrel, yet the man keeps piling up the fish and handing out the guns. And, amazingly, he keeps running for public office and keeps getting elected.

That incredible winning streak might come to an end now that he's aiming for higher office and is facing other candidates who haven't billed taxpayers for every meal they've eaten for the past four years.

The 18-page document summarizing the Ethics Commission investigation into Rod Tam's bento-gate is the sort of thing you print up and pass around the office for comic relief:

He doesn't like to meet with people in his office because there are allergens in Honolulu Hale that bother his sinuses.

He took his brother and sister out to dinner, called them "constituents" and sent bills for $400 for city reimbursement.

He took his family to dinner at the Empress restaurant and claimed it was a "crime in Chinatown meeting."

On that Valentine's Day dinner, he claimed was meeting with two state employees to discuss how the economy affects Hawai'i's public education.

And not only did he say he was on city business when clearly he was feeding his family, he overcharged for the reimbursements. Ethics Commission investigators caught him when they went back to the restaurants and matched up the credit card slips Tam submitted with restaurant copies of the same bills. Ho! Busted!

Tam received repayments for hundreds of meals because he said they were related to council business. He justified the claims by saying the mealtime discussion was about "Hawai'i's economy," "economic development" or the "city's economy," which is what the rest of us talk about these days at all the meals we pay for ourselves.

It may be tempting to shrug it off with, "Yeah, well, I'll bet they all do it." But they don't. In the Ethics Commission report, it says by comparison, a few of the other council members have used their discretionary funds for the occasional staff lunch or as per diem when they're traveling on council business. Some council members haven't submitted meal reimbursements at all.

The whole thing is so classically Rod Tam. When other politicians are running up tabs on the taxpayers' backs, they're doing crazy stuff like ordering room-service lobster dinners and pay-per-view dirty movies or flying to Argentina pretending it's an international trade mission. Not Tam. He takes his wife to dinner at a low-end Japanese restaurant. That doesn't make it less wrong, but it does make it more Rod Tam.

-- by Lee Cataluna

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City Councilman Rod Tam wants to be our mayor.

I would chuckle at the very thought, but ... wait. People keep voting for him. In fact, Tam has held public office for close to three decades - 20 years in the state Legislature and eight as a City Councilman.

Wow. Gee. That means there is actually a chance he could become mayor. Hoooo boy.