Sione Thompson agreed to the payment as part of a settlement with the Hawaii State Ethics Commission over multiple violations between 2018 and 2020.

The former executive director of the Hawaii State Public Charter School Commission has agreed to pay $5,000 in fines and admitted to committing more than a dozen violations of the state’s conflict of interest laws during his time at the state agency.

Sione Thompson signed off on multiple state contracts with three nonprofit organizations without disclosing that he also served on the boards of those organizations, the Hawaii State Ethics Commission said in a release Tuesday.

According to the Ethics Commission, Thompson should have recused himself from taking any action on contracts for organizations that he was affiliated with. He also did not list his involvement with the nonprofit groups on annual financial disclosure statements he was required to file.

Thompson admitted to the ethics violations as part of a settlement with the Ethics Commission, but told the commission that he did not personally benefit from any of the contracts. The commission noted that Thompson cooperated fully with its investigation and was “forthright and candid in speaking with the Ethics Commission’s staff.”

Thompson, who left the Charter Commission in 2020 and is currently a high school principal in Oregon, did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Support Civil Beat during the season of giving.

As a small nonprofit newsroom, our mission is powered by readers like you. But did you know that less than 1% of readers donate to Civil Beat?

Give today and support local journalism that helps to inform, empower and connect.

About the Author