The director of the state Department of Economic Development, Business and Tourism said he is looking into Sen. Kurt Fevella's accusations of the state’s film office.
Fevella, who represents the ʻEwa Beach area on Oʻahu, publicly called Wednesday for an audit of the Hawaii Film Office, which falls under DBEDT.
The state senator claimed the state's film commissioner, Donne Dawson, misused public funds for first-class travel. Fevella also accused Dawson of outsourcing local jobs and wielding her power to stall filming permits.
DBEDT Director James Tokioka said he met with the senator and spoke with the film office. Tokioka said he needs to do more research on the accusations.
"I need to find out, you know, what exactly happened and what the Film Office is being accused of. So that's where I left it with him," Tokioka said.
Tokioka said he has not spoken to Dawson directly.
"I spoke to her supervisor, Georja Skinner, and I asked her if they knew of any of the allegations to give me that information. She said some of the accusations are not true. And I said, 'OK, well then just put it in writing and let me know what's true and what's not true.' It's important for me to get the detailed accusations from Sen. Fevella so that we can do our investigation of the information he put out there," Tokioka said.
The DBEDT director said he would support an audit of the office if any of the claims are substantiated.
An audit would require legislative approval, or the request of the Senate president or House speaker.
