Cayetano endorses
campaign funds billHe denies GOP challenger Linda Lingle's
By Mike Yuen
assertion that he is behind the measure
Star-BulletinGov. Ben Cayetano said today he is not behind a "great" bill that Republican gubernatorial candidate Linda Lingle believes would severely curtail her ability to obtain campaign contributions. The measure was approved yesterday by the House Judiciary Committee in an 8-3 vote along partisan lines.
"We're not the invisible hand. But it's a great idea," Cayetano said of the bill, which surfaced a few days ago.
"I think it's an idea which levels the playing field among the donors and closes a (campaign contribution) loophole."
Under the bill, gubernatorial candidates would get $6,000 from their national party and affiliated organizations. During the 1994 campaign, isle parties had no limit as to what they could get from their national parties, but the Legislature imposed a $50,000 cap in 1995.
Under current state law, individuals can give a maximum of $6,000 to gubernatorial candidates during each election cycle.
Cayetano said if the bill, now advancing to the House floor, had been law during the 1994 gubernatorial election, former Honolulu Mayor Frank Fasi, who's now challenging Lingle, the Maui mayor, for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, would not have been able to use his then-existing Best Party to funnel "hundreds of thousands of dollars" from a few contributors into his campaign, circumventing the limits on individual contributions.
"Should rich people be able to give more than other people?" Cayetano asked. "Is Lingle going to use her party to get all this big mainland money to come here and influence our election?"
According to Robert Watada, executive director of the state Campaign Spending Commission, the 1994 gubernatorial election saw $94,000 go through the Democratic National Committee to Cayetano, $400,000 from the Republican National Committee to former U.S. Rep. Patricia Saiki and $1 million from the Best Party to Fasi.
Hawaii Democratic Party Chairwoman Marilyn Bornhorst, who won't be seeking re-election in May, said she doesn't see how the measure would improve the political process.
"It's definitely not coming from the Democratic Party (apparatus). I would like to see the House get to work on some real campaign finance reform," she added.
Lingle and other Republicans strongly believe that the Cayetano camp played a significant role in having his fellow Democrats, who control the Legislature, hatch the bill.
He is virtually unaffected by the measure, they maintained.
And the suddenness in which the bill surfaced, just days after the state Republican Party raised a record $250,000 at its annual Lincoln Day dinner, leads to an inescapable conclusion, they added.
Cayetano -- with nearly $2.3 million already in his campaign coffers, eight times more than what Lingle has -- isn't counting on contributions from the Democratic National Committee, which is in debt, Awana and other Republicans said. But Lingle is counting on money from the Republican National Committee and related entities.
"Why can't they just play fair? What are they afraid of?" Lingle asked rhetorically. "The answer is clear: They're afraid of losing the gubernatorial election. They're afraid because (Cayetano) has no record to run on. He has no vision."
Lingle added, "If they get as much worried about the economy as they do about keeping themselves in power, we wouldn't be in the situation we are today."
Cayetano also had some harsh words for David Murdock, the chairman and chief executive officer of Dole Food Co. of Westlake, Calif., and Castle & Cooke Inc. of Los Angeles, a featured speaker at the GOP's recent Lincoln Day dinner.
Cayetano accused Murdock, who lives in Los Angeles, of "influence peddling" in the upcoming election.
Murdock, who early in Cayetano's administration tried get the famed Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., to open a branch facility in Hawaii, was calling local business executives, asking them to contribute $25,000 to the isle GOP, Cayetano said.
Cayetano contrasted Murdock with Lawrence Johnson, Bank of Hawaii chairman, who has hosted a fund-raiser for Cayetano. "People grumble about Larry Johnson, but he has not given me more than $6,000," Cayetano said.
House Judiciary Chairman Terrance Tom (D, Kaneohe) said the bill approved by his committee "will address the potentially disproportionate impact of national political party 'soft money' on Hawaii elections by limiting how much can be given to parties by individuals and national affiliates."
Limits on contributions
Here are the key points from what Republicans have dubbed "the stop Linda Lingle bill":
Greatly reduces the amount political parties can contribute to candidates.
Alarm bell rings for
By Pat Omandam
historic preservation
Star-BulletinThe state Historic Preservation Division is looking to the state Legislature for relief from budget cuts and staff reductions July 1. As part of Gov. Ben Cayetano's proposal to cut $111 million next fiscal year from the state budget, the 23-member office faces a $209,000 shortfall that would eliminate eight positions.
Of that number, five are for staff archaeologists who, among other things, review proposed development projects in Hawaii for cultural or historical sites.
Officials hope a measure, now before the Senate Ways and Means Committee, will unearth funds to defray costs for the historic preservation program.
Senate Bill 2902, SD 1, would authorize the Department of Land and Natural Resources to charge fees, much like permit fees, to developers who require preservation work, in hopes of raising several hundred thousand dollars to help cover staff salaries and other expenses.
"We're hoping if we get that authorization, that we may be able to generate revenues so we could possibly rehire in the future," said Don Hibbard, administrator of the historic preservation program.
Hibbard yesterday said he plans to keep some people on by transferring them from permanent positions slated for elimination to temporary positions.
Still, he said the division will lose a total of eight employees, forcing the program to streamline operations.
"Essentially, what would be left is staff to fulfill federal requirements, staff to handle (native Hawaiian) burials -- half of which are already funded by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs -- and archaeologists on the neighbor islands," he said.
To cope, Hibbard said plans call for privatizing archaeological reviews as well as seeking historic preservation fees. Land board Chairman Mike Wilson, in written testimony on the bill last month, said the department would charge reasonable fees for archaeological reviews of private, county and state development projects.
"We estimate the charging of such fees might generate several hundred thousand dollars in revenues, which could be used to help cover staff salaries," Wilson said.
The Senate money committee has not yet scheduled a hearing for the bill, although it must do so by March 12 if the measure is to move forward.
As for privatizing archaeological reviews, some say the plan is poorly thought out and will only make matters worse. Paul H. Rosendahl, a Hilo archaeologist with nearly 30 years of experience in Hawaii, said yesterday it will be rife with potential conflicts of interest.
For example, the move could lead to an outside archaeological firm brokering a "sweetheart" deal with a developer for a favorable review of an archaeological survey.
Or competing firms could submit unfavorable reviews of each other's project to the preservation office.
"It's taken several years to build up a good professional staff of archaeologists in that office who are allied with none of the firms that are competing for doing this consultant work," Rosendahl said.
"Even though we're supposed to be objective, unbiased experts, the fact that we get hired by somebody to do work for them sorts of taints us, at least in the eyes of some," he said.
'We would lose a lot of ground'
By Gary T. Kubota
in saving Native Hawaiian sites
Star-Bulletin
WAILUKU -- A proposal to cut the state Historic Preservation Division's staff by more than 33 percent has upset some native Hawaiians who fear burials and historic sites will be destroyed without proper review. "We would lose a lot of ground," said Charles Maxwell, a Hawaiian cultural specialist. "It's really important. Without that, you can't have the culture."
The reduction is being proposed in Gov. Ben Cayetano's budget and is expected to be considered by the money committees at the state Legislature.
The Cayetano administration says the reduction would save the state $209,000.
Under the governor's plan, reviews would be done by archaeologists hired by developers.
Critics argue that the proposal places archaeologists in a compromising position of being paid by a developer, and contend the quality of the reviews will be less consistent without the state overseeing them.
"There's no doubt all historic sites would be negatively affected without adequate funding of the state Historic Preservation Division," said Dana Hall, chairwoman of the Maui/Lanai Islands Burial Council.
Hall believes the burial mounds at Waihee on Maui would not have been preserved as much without the supervision that was given by the division.
Hall said the state can't rely on the county to help in the enforcement because the county has shown little regard for burials and archaeological sites.
Maxwell believes that without proper review, there also will be a greater likelihood of protests from various native Hawaiians groups.
In the early 1990s, Maxwell was one of the leaders protesting the development of the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua, where there were hundreds of native burials.
Stricter guidelines for repatriating burials in Hawaii and the establishment of burial councils on each island followed the Kapalua protest.
Maxwell said he objected to the way the Cayetano administration is cutting into programs affecting Hawaiians.
"It's amazing how the Legislature and governor always want to test the Hawaiians' resolve," Maxwell said.
LEGISLATURE UPDATE
A calendar of tomorrow's hearings -- to be held at the state Capitol, 415 S. Beretania St., unless noted:
HOUSE
SENATE
