Union apologizes for attacks on former Hawaii governor in lawsuit settlement

Pacific Resource Partnership, an affiliate of the Hawaii Carpenters Union, has apologized for a barrage of media attacks that led to former Gov. Ben Cayetano’s defeat in the 2012 Honolulu mayoral race.

As a part of a legal settlement in a defamation lawsuit filed by Cayetano, Pacific Resource Partnership also will donate $100,000 to the University of Hawaii John A. Burns Medical School and $25,000 to the Hawaiian Humane Society on Cayetano’s behalf.

The agreement will end a lawsuit Cayetano filed in October 2012 after PRP Hawaii spent nearly $2 million on negative advertising targeting him, helping the pro-rail candidate, Kirk Caldwell, win election. The advertisements alleged Cayetano was corrupt and broke the law while he was governor from 1994 to 2002.

PRP Hawaii apologized in an advertisement in the June 22 edition of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. The letter was signed by John White, executive director of the union.

“That apology is worth more than money, because I think it helped to erase the tarnish they put on my reputation,” Cayetano told Watchdog.org. The financial settlement went to two of Cayetano’s favorite charities.

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