I’m as sick and tired of this conversation as anyone. We should be talking about the future and solving the many challenges facing our community, not asking an elected official seeking higher office to do the bare minimum that any other state employee with a suspected conflict of interest would be asked to do.
Until I finally watched the 25-minute video of their joint press conference yesterday, my hope was that we could just move on past this negative stuff. I’m oh-so-tired of it.
It’s impossible to now set aside my own personal responsibility to support their effort in getting to the truth of the matter.
Kai Kahele and Vicky Cayetano are honorable people who have looked at the facts available to them and have determined there is reason for alarm and a need for clarity. They are asking Lt. Gov. Josh Green to tell the public the full truth about his outside financial interests. They are also asking the news media to dig deeper and report on what is really going on.
This is a reasonable and legitimate request and if there’s nothing to hide, why would Green not comply?
By continuing to refuse disclosure, Green only fuels the fires of suspicion.
Green should publicly and fully disclose the source of his income that is funneled through Green Health International LLC, and answer the other questions raised by Congressman Kai Kahele and former First Lady Vicky Cayetano.
According to public records, in addition to his annual lieutenant governor salary of $160,000, Green Health International LLC and other health-related entities have paid the LG between $600,000 and $1 million since he has held that seat.
He’s getting paid to be a full-time lieutenant governor, yet he also has earned between $150,000 and $250,000 per year providing medical services, like fixing a child’s dislocated shoulder?
Somehow I don’t think so.
No doctor earns $150,000 to $250,000 per year working part-time on weekends fixing dislocated shoulders.
According to salary.com, “The average Physician General Practitioner salary in Hawai‘i is $228,590 as of June 28, 2022, but the range typically falls between $197,990 and $255,690.”
Because he refuses to disclose who’s paying him through his Limited Liability Corporation, Green Health International LLC – we can only speculate as to what’s really going on.
The principals of Green Health International LLC. are listed as Joshua Green and his wife, Jaime Green. The corporation also lists former Hawai‘i State Insurance Commissioner Jeffrey Schmidt as its “agent.”
Schmidt, was hired by Green as a “Senior Advisor” in the LG’s office while he was also acting as Green Health International LLC’s agent.
The State Ethics Code, which applies to all state employees states, “Do not solicit or enter into substantial financial transactions with anyone you supervise or regulate as a state employee.” Teachers, janitors, and highway workers have to follow the State ethics code, shouldn’t the LG too?
Schmidt worked in the LG’s office as a paid employee of the State, at the same time he was working as Green Health Internationals’s agent, AND he was (and still is) the CEO and a Principal at Abaris Global (April 2016 to present). Abaris Global is based in Denver Colorado and according to its website provides expertise on regulatory and corporate governance, Blockchain & Insurance, Regulation & Compliance – cryptocurrency and related matters. Schmidt also is the agent for Ola Like LLC which is located at the same address as Green Health International.
One question of course leads to another.
It appears the LG also owned another health company of which little is known. A public records search reveals a Seva Natural Medicine Limited Liability Partnership located at 75-169 Hualala Rd, Ste 301, Kailua-Kona, Hawai‘i 96740, Incorporated in August 2014 and involuntarily canceled. Officers: Everett, Melanie, general partner, 20 Aug 2014-Green, Josh, general partner, 20 Aug 2014- and Joshua Green, agent.
So as you can see, the request for full disclosure is a reasonable one. Please. Take the time and watch the video. But I warn you that if you do, you won’t be able to unlearn what it teaches you.
The lieutenant governor should fully disclose in writing as soon as possible, so voters can make an informed decision.
Where is the Green Health International LLC money coming from? If the income is from hospitals and physician service organizations for which he is providing medical services, then information to substantiate that needs to be made public. If the income is from something else, the public needs to know that as well.
The public deserves an answer. Watch the video and decide for yourself. https://youtu.be/9qDohdo5VIU
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Gary Hooser is the former vice-chair of the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i, and served eight years in the state Senate, where he was majority leader. He also served for eight years on the Kaua‘i County Council, and was the former director of the state Office of Environmental Quality Control. He serves in a volunteer capacity as board president of the Hawai‘i Alliance for Progressive Action and is executive director of the Pono Hawai‘i Initiative.
Source: The Garden Island
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