Five of nine
OHA seats up for grabs;
20 file as deadline looms
DeSoto, Akana and Campos
By Pat Omandam
hope to retain their seats;
Hee has not yet committed
Star-BulletinWhile Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustees prepare for talks with the state over a ceded lands settlement, there is no shortage of people who want to take their place.
Five of the nine board seats are up for election, again opening the possibility of another OHA leadership change when the winners take office Nov. 4.
So far, 20 candidates have filed papers for OHA, with the filing deadline set for 4:30 p.m. tomorrow.
Incumbents facing re-election for their at-large seats are Chairwoman A. Frenchy DeSoto, Rowena N. Akana and Clayton Hee, who as of Tuesday had not declared his candidacy for re-election.
Also, appointed interim trustee Herbert K. Campos seeks election to his Maui trustee post, while the Oahu seat now held by interim trustee Gladys Brandt, 91, will be up for grabs.
Leading the anti-incumbent wave are Mililani Trask, Mahealani Kamauu, Kina'u Boyd Kamali'i, Annelle Amaral and the Rev. Darrow L.K. Aiona. An additional 15 people have filed to run.
A longtime critic of OHA, Trask yesterday said the agency hasn't been responsive in areas that directly help Hawaiians. For instance, she believes OHA should offer a low-interest loan so Hawaiians can help themselves.
Also, the attorney and governor of Ka Lahui Hawaii fears the OHA board may be narrow-minded when it comes to the ceded land settlement. Rather than securing only revenues or lands, the agency should consider control and access to marine resoures and fisheries too, she said.
Kamauu, Native Hawaiian Legal Corp. executive director, said she's putting her job of 20 years on the line to run for office. Kamauu wants OHA to be more aggressive in business and economic development so Hawaiians are not forced to move away.
"I feel there's a great need for a better caliber of leadership there, and I think I can make a contribution," said Kamauu, who is part of a candidate slate with DeSoto, Campos, B. Mokihana Watson and Larry Joy Kiyohiro.
Kamali'i, defeated in the 1996 OHA elections by Haunani Apoliona, believes OHA needs a ceded land settlement that guarantees money owed and a land trust for all Hawaiians, regardless of blood quantum.
Amaral, a state representative from 1988 to 1996, said this is a critical time for Hawaiians and for OHA.
"You have the majority of seats available right now, so it's a time for Hawaiian voters to set into place that kind of visionary leadership in those majority seats," she said.
State elections officials said yesterday the number of Hawaiians registered to vote in OHA is up to 95,785 and counting, compared with 84,989 voters on the same date in 1996.
Trustees and the state will try to settle outstanding claims for ceded lands used by the state by Dec. 1.
Here's a list, as of Sept. 1, of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs candidates vying for the five board seats this November. The filing deadline is 4:30 p.m. tomorrow. Candidates running for OHA board
Three at-large trustees: Incumbents A. Frenchy DeSoto and Rowena N. Akana; Darrow L.K. Aiona, Stewart Dela Cruz, Lovell F. Kaleikini, Virginia H. Kalua, Mahealani Kamauu, Willy Meyers, Bill K. Montgomery, Mililani Trask and B. Mokihana Watson.
Incumbent Clayton Hee has taken out papers for candidacy but has not yet filed.
