Editorials
Wednesday, November 27, 1996
Court must decide
on holding Con Con
IT wasn't the purpose, but the Hawaii State AFL-CIO has done everyone in Hawaii a favor by filing a lawsuit to block a constitutional convention. The effect will be to obtain a state Supreme Court ruling on the issue. Whichever way the court decides, it will settle the question of the interpretation of the state Constitution as only the court can.
Attorney General Margery Bronster issued an opinion last week stating that the voters on Nov. 5 authorized a convention. But that is not the only possible conclusion. There were more affirmative than negative votes to the question of whether a Con Con should be held - 163,869 to 160,153.
However, 45,245 ballots were blank and 90 had both yes and no answers. The affirmative votes did not exceed the combination of negative, blank and spoiled votes. The Constitution states that a Con Con should be held "if a majority of the ballots cast upon such a question" favored it. Does that mean the blank ballots shouldn't be counted?
That is the state attorney general's interpretation, and she is confident it will be upheld. The AFL-CIO's and its attorney obviously differ. Now the court will decide. That's what courts are for.
It is fortunate that the AFL-CIO has filed suit so promptly, before any efforts could be made to begin preparations for a Con Con. With costs estimated as high as $13 million, it would be a big waste to go ahead with a Con Con only to have the results invalidated by a later court decision.
The unions have their reasons to oppose a Con Con, which have to do with protecting their benefits under current law. So do proponents of same-sex marriage and other groups apprehensive of what changes a convention might make. So does the League of Women Voters, which conducted a survey of community leaders and concluded it would cost too much and might focus on highly emotional issues such as same-sex marriage and gambling.
The Star-Bulletin sees no compelling reason to hold a Con Con at this point. There might be a need after native Hawaiians hold their sovereignty convention and come up with proposals that might require constitutional amendments.
The issue at present, however, is not whether a Con Con is needed but whether the Nov. 5 vote met the constitutional requirement to authorize the holding of one. The answer will have to come from the Supreme Court.
UH faculty rally
THE University of Hawaii faculty union and student supporters held a rally in front of Washington Place Monday and successfully prodded Governor Cayetano into ordering an immediate resumption of talks on a new contract.
A strike by the UH faculty or public schoolteachers could seriously damage Hawaii education if sustained for more than a few days. The governor is only being responsible in refusing to offer an increase until he knows how much the state must pay other employees. But the issue is coming to a head, and he cannot hold off indefinitely.
Success at Subic Bay
THE transformation of the U.S. naval base at Subic Bay in the Philippines into an industrial center is a success story that should encourage other communities faced with military pullouts. As related by Susan Kreifels in the Star-Bulletin, part of the credit should go to a University of Hawaii professor of ethnic studies, Dean Alegado, a native of that area who volunteered to help when the U.S. Navy was forced to withdraw and thousands of Filipinos lost their jobs.
Gordon had tried to keep the Navy at Subic, but when the Philippine Congress refused to renew the U.S. lease, he went to work to make the best of the situation. With help from Dean Alegado and others, he succeeded beyond anyone's expectations.
Published by Liberty Newspapers Limited Partnership
Rupert E. Phillips, CEO
John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher
David Shapiro, Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor