Honolulu Ethics Commission appoints new Executive Director
July 20, 2026 at 1:52 PM HST
The Honolulu Ethics Commission appointed attorney Sandy Ma as its newest Executive Director and Legal Counsel in charge of enforcing ethics laws in early June.
Ma brings decades of experience in legal, policy and nonprofit work with the watchdog group Common Cause Hawaiʻi to the role.
HPR spoke with Ma to learn more about how the Ethics Commission functions and to discuss the ethical questions that have been circulating on local and national levels about Hawaiʻi’s elected officials.
Interview Highlights
On the purpose of the Honolulu Ethics Commission
SANDY MA: It is so critically important because in a functional democracy, ethics and trust in government is critical. Ethics and trust in government is the cornerstone of a working democracy, and this is why this agency is critical. And really, that's the bottom line. Without trust in government, government fails, and so that's why we all need ethics. Ethics is all of our kuleana. It's just not people who work in government; it is everyone.
On Honolulu’s gift laws
MA: We are currently educating both the public and city employees and elected officials and boards and commissions about what the gift law means. So it really is about gifts of aloha and making sure that you don't take any gifts that could be viewed by the public as swaying your decision making. … It's important because Hawaiʻi is such a state where aloha is so prevalent, and we want to share our appreciation for what we do, especially for our public workers who often do not get appreciated as much as they should. And so, around the holidays or special occasions, we sometimes share aloha a little too much, and it could be viewed as currying favor. And while that is not the intent, it may seem like that, and we want to make sure that everyone is treated equally and not provided unfair treatment.
On accepting her new role as Executive Director
MA: I look at this role as a public servant role. Like this agency, this department is to serve the public good. We are here to restore and to keep the faith in government, and really that is it. We are here for transparency, for accountability, and to act in accordance with the rule of law. And that is it. Politics will not come into play in this office because we have law, and we will look at our guidance and the rules fairly and equally, and that is it. We will do things transparently, and we will have the public hold us accountable.
Ma encourages concerned members of the public to file complaints with the Honolulu Ethics Commission using this online form.
This story aired on The Conversation on July 20, 2026. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Jinwook Lee adapted this story for the web.
Ma brings decades of experience in legal, policy and nonprofit work with the watchdog group Common Cause Hawaiʻi to the role.
HPR spoke with Ma to learn more about how the Ethics Commission functions and to discuss the ethical questions that have been circulating on local and national levels about Hawaiʻi’s elected officials.
Interview Highlights
On the purpose of the Honolulu Ethics Commission
SANDY MA: It is so critically important because in a functional democracy, ethics and trust in government is critical. Ethics and trust in government is the cornerstone of a working democracy, and this is why this agency is critical. And really, that's the bottom line. Without trust in government, government fails, and so that's why we all need ethics. Ethics is all of our kuleana. It's just not people who work in government; it is everyone.
On Honolulu’s gift laws
MA: We are currently educating both the public and city employees and elected officials and boards and commissions about what the gift law means. So it really is about gifts of aloha and making sure that you don't take any gifts that could be viewed by the public as swaying your decision making. … It's important because Hawaiʻi is such a state where aloha is so prevalent, and we want to share our appreciation for what we do, especially for our public workers who often do not get appreciated as much as they should. And so, around the holidays or special occasions, we sometimes share aloha a little too much, and it could be viewed as currying favor. And while that is not the intent, it may seem like that, and we want to make sure that everyone is treated equally and not provided unfair treatment.
On accepting her new role as Executive Director
MA: I look at this role as a public servant role. Like this agency, this department is to serve the public good. We are here to restore and to keep the faith in government, and really that is it. We are here for transparency, for accountability, and to act in accordance with the rule of law. And that is it. Politics will not come into play in this office because we have law, and we will look at our guidance and the rules fairly and equally, and that is it. We will do things transparently, and we will have the public hold us accountable.
Ma encourages concerned members of the public to file complaints with the Honolulu Ethics Commission using this online form.
This story aired on The Conversation on July 20, 2026. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Jinwook Lee adapted this story for the web.