Evan Dobelle: Fair "firing" ?

[Albert]

Re: Evan Dobelle: Fair "firing" ?

"on vacation on the mainland"

I'm puzzled by this. He left his Porsche parked at UH-Manoa while he went off to the mainland?

[Mocha]

Re: Evan Dobelle: Fair "firing" ?

I haven't read any newspaper accounts...I tend to think the papers are biased toward the Democrats but that's just my take. That's why I'd like to hear what Dr. Dobelle has to say for himself and if he just fades away or fights!

[LikaNui]

Re: Evan Dobelle: Fair "firing" ?

"on vacation on the mainland"

I'm puzzled by this. He left his Porsche parked at UH-Manoa while he went off to the mainland?

You were supposed to be using it while he was gone, Albert! Or, cover it with cat food.
Seriously, maybe he thought June Jones would wax it for him.

[dick]

Re: Evan Dobelle: Fair "firing" ?

Mocha, while you might have that perception of the newspapers here, it's important to see all sides of the story. I hate TeeVee news but watch all stations to see what all have to offer. I even read the 'Tizer daily just to see what they have to say (in addition to USAToday and NYT). Heck, I even read Honolulu Weekly, Midweek, and Ka Leo.

[ontheleft]

That may well be, but...

>>you'll see just how many Democrats had some serious issues with Dobelle.

If it had been Democrats behind this action, it would have happened the right way -- in private, with Dobelle being given a chance to resign. The public execution we are witnessing is clearly the work of Lingle and her lackeys on the Board of Regents. No doubt her mentor Karen Hughes advised her on how best to exact revenge for Dobelle daring to endorse someone else for governor (oh the horror!).

[Glen Miyashiro]

Re: Evan Dobelle: Fair "firing" ?

"on vacation on the mainland"

I'm puzzled by this. He left his Porsche parked at UH-Manoa while he went off to the mainland?

Albert, did you mean that the Porsche is parked on campus now? Or did you mean it was parked at College Hill, the president's house in Manoa (photo here)? Who knows, he probably has multiple cars to begin with.

[Albert]

Re: Evan Dobelle: Fair "firing" ?

It's gone this morning! I was afraid he'd get a ticket for parking in an unauthorized spot.

Yes, for some unfathomable reason, he evidently left his Porsche parked in the "reserved for the President" spot on campus when he traveled. I really can't think why he didn't leave it up on the hill at his big house (which may or may not have a garage).

(The Porsche was in that campus spot more often when he was traveling than it was when he was supposedly "at work").

It's really scandalous, firing him and how they did it, never mind that he didn't come close to fulfilling some of the grand ideas he had for UH-Manoa. And, as I said to some friends yesterday, I think he'll have a much easier time finding a new job than these "regents" will have finding a new president.

[pzarquon]

Re: Evan Dobelle: Fair "firing" ?

You know, I agree that the whole Hirono thing was a dumbass move, and he definitely had a knack for rubbing folks the wrong way. He had big ideas, and problems with money, yada yada yada. And given the lack of information to date, I definitely agree the Board of Regents action reeks of a lack of class.

But tying things specifically to Lingle's appointees to the board seems a little too simplistic. I mean, if it were a purely political action, how did we get a unanimous decision rather than a party-line split? I mean, I've lost track of what members come from what political dynasty, but it seems plausible to me that if it was just Hirono-Lingle fallout, we'd have seen some dissent.

The only explanation I can come up with for the unanimous vote is either (1.) there is indeed somewhere some "moral turpitude" that we've simply not been privvy to that made the dismissal a no brainer, or, more likely, (2.) poor judgement or not, they decided that while they knew they had a snowball's chance in hell, they just had to take a shot at trying to weasel out of the $2.2 million severance package.

I agree with Albert, though... barring a humongous scandal erupting, I think Dobelle will not neccessarily go without a new job for long (though one analyst did say such a firing was the "kiss of death"), but the Regents have made it almost impossible to recruit a replacement... at least from anywhere but "inside." Which may be an added benefit, in their eyes.

[Glen Miyashiro]

Re: Evan Dobelle: Fair "firing" ?

Sigh. Well, at least he managed to get a new med school building for the university... although it's not quite finished, furnished, and occupied yet.

[LikaNui]

Re: Evan Dobelle: Fair firing !

I'm not taking sides since, like everyone else, I don't know the exact cause for the firing (though it's appearing more and more to be related to financial irregularities). And Dobelle was out of the state for 280 days last year!?
But I'm amazed about the preponderance of opinions by people who apparently are not following published reports.
They howl about the regents, yet even the Democrats admit that 4 of the 10 are Cayetano appointees and another one was appointed by Senate Leader Bunda. Clearly, 50% of the regents. And the vote was unanimous to fire Dobelle. To blame his firing on politics is obviously ludicrous.
Another thing everyone is screaming about is that Dobelle didn't have a chance to be at the meeting. Bullfeathers:
** The meetings were scheduled as far back as February.
** This is the second one since then that Dobelle has skipped and gone on vacation instead, booking those vacations after he had the schedule of meetings.
** The independent auditor advised Dobelle a long time ago that it was important for him to be at the meeting.
** He called on Monday to ask if he should be at the meeting and was told "yes". He implied he would be there. Then he didn't show up.
** The regents tried to reach him numerous times during and after the meeting. As president of a major university, and as someone who needs to be instantly reachable for a wide variety of potential reasons, he obviously has a cellular phone and/or pager. He was just ducking the calls.
** Firing him on the spot and changing the office locks right away to prevent unauthorized access to documents serve only to pretty much confirm financial irregularities are the issue.

And last but most definitely not least: the regent meeting was scheduled to be an open public meeting but it was Dobelle himself who exercised his right to make it a closed meeting! HELLO? If the man had nothing to hide, why did he insist on it being a closed meeting? (And again, his insisting on that clearly proves he did know about the meeting in advance.)
All of the above has been repeatedly published and aired by the news media over the past couple of days.
Apparently a large portion of the public doesn't pay attention.

[LikaNui]

Re: Evan Dobelle: Fair "firing" ?

Sigh. Well, at least he managed to get a new med school building for the university... although it's not quite finished, furnished, and occupied yet.

Becuase Dobelle has not raised anywhere near the $160 million he promised to provide for it!
The man made lots and lots of promises but came through on very few.

[Mocha]

Re: Evan Dobelle: Fair "firing" ?

When is Evan Dobelle expected back? I heard him say that he contacted most of his close friends whom he worked with...interesting that all the locks on the doors were changed immediately upon the firing! I hope they (regents) tell the truth and are honest with the public.

[Albert]

Re: Evan Dobelle: Fair "firing" ?

"And Dobelle was out of the state for 280 days last year!?"

Guess that's why I didn't see his Porsche parked outside Bachman Hall that often.

(It was parked down the hill from his soon-to-be-vacated big house today, looks like there isn't even a driveway there, much less a garage.)

[BKHale2007]

Re: Evan Dobelle: Fair "firing" ?

Did anyone see this. I forgot that he was a judge at a Miss America pageant. I think the Board of Regents tried to contact Dobelle, but couldn't. Otherwise, they would have fired him face-to-face.

http://faroutliers.blogspot.com/2004...n-dobelle.html

[ruth]

Re: Evan Dobelle: Fair "firing" ?

I just don't get the praise that Dobelle is getting via the Letters to the Editor in both the Bulletin and Advertiser. I'm not convinced that he did all that much for UH. Instead, he managed to create a very top-heavy organization with "name" executives that are way overpaid.

On top of that, he carries himself with the kind of arrogance and lifestyle that is truly an insult to the way people live here. I'm not against people earning themselves a posh lifestyle. But, if you're earning it on our backs, then you better have something to show for it.

I have to agree with Ryan that to say this issue is tied to the Hirono situation is a little simplistic. I have to believe that there are more reasons for his firing than that.

Certainly one-sided, but the DangerousEquations.com Web site at least gives more detailed reading about the situation.

Also, see these LTEs that were written by two women I highly respect at UH.

Amy Agbayani
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/ar...2aletters.html

Meda Chesney-Lind
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/ar...3aletters.html

Some people criticizing the firing not only take aim at the Regents but by association at Hawaii as a whole, as if *we* failed and that *we* don't have what it takes to become "world-class." Considering the complexity of the situation, to characterize the conflict this way turns Hawaii into a caricature that I'm not particularly proud of, especially because it's not a true representation.