Instructor Jonathan Goldberg-Hiller talks politics with students,
from left, Melody Miyamoto, Lana Yoshimura,
Matt Trawick and Dorian Cheney.
Photo by George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin

A) Candidates don't address issues which encourage them to vote.

B) Young people are turned off by campaign mudslinging and spin doctors who distort the truth.

C) They're too busy with college or a new job to take interest.

D) They don't care because no candidate is fully qualified to be a good leader.

"We live in Hawaii," says Christina K.K. Kunakau. "People are working three jobs to pay their rent. By the time you get home, you want to sleep for two hours and go back to work. You don't have time to vote."

Added Michelle M. Taira: "I'm sure I could go up to their (candidates') office and meet them. But if they came down and made an effort to talk to us for a real purpose - and not just for votes but because they cared - that would be different."

"I feel that I'm misinformed sometimes, and I'm not as informed as I could be if I went out and did the research myself," RaeDeen M. Keahiolalo said of campaign information in the media.

Throughout Decision '96, the Star-Bulletin will use Goldberg-Hiller's class as a youth focus group to discuss political issues. We'll get their comments before and after Saturday's Primary Election, and before and after November's General Election.

The Political Science 330 course will introduce students to some major themes of American politics and methods used by political scientists to understand political change, conflict and continuity.

Michelle Taira discusses the mayoral race.
Photo by George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin

"What would it take," Goldberg-Hiller asked his students, "to get people of your age really more focused on these campaigns and more involved in participating?"

The group's answer came in a written class survey during its first discussion last Thursday, revealing top issues: Economy/jobs, taxes/government spending and a candidate's integrity.

The questionnaire also showed students would favor incumbent Jeremy Harris 2-to-1 over Frank F. Fasi and Arnold Morgado if the mayoral election were held today. Asked which of the three ran the best campaign, Harris' lead increased to a 3-to-1 margin.

Kunakau said she favors Harris because he had the guts to charge tourists $5 to visit Hanauma Bay to offset maintenance costs at the bay and other parks. She said $5 is not too much for a tourist attraction, although city officials eventually changed the fee to a donation.

"He fights for the people, but I haven't seen anyone else fight for the people," she said.

Aimee Davis also would vote for Harris. Davis, who said she pays a fair amount of attention to the mayoral race, said Harris "has accomplished the most tasks among the candidates."

But Elsa K. Wai is split between Harris and his former boss, Fasi. While Harris may have nurtured the grass-roots vote, Wai says Fasi has done a lot more for the city.

"I feel most of the things he's gotten done in his administration is carry-over from Fasi," Wai said. "If it wasn't for Fasi, we wouldn't have a bus system."

The class agreed a leader's integrity, moral character and strong family values carry more weight than party affiliation. Even so, Taira believes the mayor's race will mean choosing among people who all have ties to the "old boys network," where political payback is the norm.

And from what she's heard, none of the three has all the qualities of a strong mayor. "It's just the matter of when you vote, choosing the less of evils," Taira said.

The class agreed that candidates should follow through on promises and not mislead the public about their accomplishments.

The students were quick to target Gov. Ben Cayetano's campaign promise of a public education system that was "second-to-none."

They also remembered how the governor "talked down" to students at last October's "Death of Education" rally at the state Capitol.