A state Senate hearing on utility regulation had a last-minute item added to its agenda — an anonymous complaint against top officials at the Public Utilities Commission.
State Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole said his office received an anonymous memo last Friday containing serious concerns about leadership at the PUC.
The complaint alleged that PUC Chief of Policy and Research Randy Baldemor had created "a toxic and ineffective work environment."
It claimed that PUC Chair Leo Asuncion passed over more qualified candidates in order to install Baldemor as head of the Policy branch.
The anonymous sender wrote that Baldemor was "not capable of performing the duties of the Chief of Policy and Research due to his complete lack of regulatory and industry experience and apparent disinterest in learning about utilities."
In addition, Baldemor allegedly "degrades and bullies" staff.
"If no action is taken," the complaint continued, "the Commission risks a mass departure of critical staff enduring continuous verbal and emotional abuse by Randy Baldemor."
The anonymous sender further claimed Asuncion and Baldemor may be overly friendly with executives of Hawaiian Electric, one of the many entities that the PUC oversees.
It described a specific instance when Asuncion allegedly said that he and Baldemor "barbeque together with HECO executives."
Asuncion denied the comment during yesterday's hearing.
Asuncion worked for Hawaiian Electric from 2005 to 2011. Since then, he has been employed by...
Kevin Costner’s lawyer has already called out the sex harassment lawsuit from Horizon II stunt performer Devyn LaBella as a “shakedown,” and now, seeking to get the case dismissed, the Oscar winne...