Union apologizes for attacks on former Hawaii governor in lawsuit settlement
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}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.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}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.