The city Ethics Commission is reviewing a complaint that City Council members Donovan M. Dela Cruz, Charles K. Djou and Ann H. Kobayashi improperly used city resources to promote Kobayashi's mayoral campaign.

The complaint alleges that Kobayashi's nominating papers were signed and filed by staff members in the offices of the three council members while the staff were on city time, which would be prohibited. The complaint also alleges that a Kobayashi campaign announcement was distributed to staff members of the three council members while they were on city time.

The complaint goes on to allege Dela Cruz is violating city ethics rules by simultaneously serving as a council member and Kobayashi's campaign chairman. The final allegation is that some of Kobayashi's campaign commercials, featuring Djou and others, were shot at City Hall during a city workday.

Dela Cruz, Djou and Kobayashi called the accusations baseless and said that any campaign work conducted by staff members was done after they had properly filed for vacation time to conduct campaign-related work.

"Let's debate issues and do away with the pettiness," said Kobayashi. "We don't operate that way. We don't do this kind of stuff. We're going to keep positive and we're going to run a very positive grassroots campaign."

Dela Cruz pointed out that he and Kobayashi both appeared in advertisements for Mayor Mufi Hannemann's 2004 campaign and that did not prompt an ethics complaint or investigation.

Djou said that every one of his staff members filed for vacation and that his office carefully documented their work.

"There is no ethical breach at all," said Djou. "My staff all filed vacation time and documented it when participating in all political activities just as I'm sure the mayor's Cabinet has.

"Preposterous is the only way to describe this. Every American citizen has the right to express their political views whether they are in a political office or not. I have always been open and transparent in all my duties as a public official. I have always conducted myself in an ethical manner and will continue to."

The city Ethics Commission also acknowledged it has opened an investigation into whether city administration employees improperly collected signatures on behalf of former House Majority Leader Kirk W. Caldwell on his petition to run for a City Council seat.

The investigation is looking at allegations that employees of the city administration collected signatures and coordinated the efforts of Caldwell's failed attempt to get his name on the election ballot while on city time and utilized city staff and resources in the process.

"I'm not going to speculate on what the ethics commission is going to conclude," said Caldwell, an attorney at Ashford and Wriston.

Charles W. Totto, executive director and legal counsel for the Ethics Commission, declined to discuss the case.

"The commission and its staff are prohibited by law from discussing an ongoing investigation," said Totto. "All I can say at this point is that the investigation is continuing."

City Informational Affairs Officer Johnny Brannon, in a statement, said no allegations of wrongdoing have been substantiated and all Ethics Commission inquiries are confidential while in progress. He also said that any city employees contacted by the commission should cooperate fully.

"Employees may, and do, take vacation time in small increments for personal reasons, such as parent-teacher conferences, personal errands and political activities," said Brannon, in a statement. "My understanding is that city employees involved in nominating a candidate for the abandoned District 5 City Council seat properly took vacation time, and did not use city resources to communicate with each other."

On Aug. 1, the city clerk's office rejected Caldwell's bid for a City Council seat, putting the state House majority leader out of the election entirely and leaving his council opponent, Duke Bainum, unopposed.

The clerk's office found that Caldwell's nomination papers were invalid because he had not properly withdrawn from his House re-election campaign by the July 22 filing deadline. That meant, for a brief time, that Caldwell was running for two seats at once, which is not allowed.

A.J. Halagao, Hannemann's re-election chairman, said everyone who volunteered to sign Caldwell's nomination papers did so on their own time.