Editorials
Wednesday, September 16, 1998

Open primary
could have
unwelcome result

THE primary election Saturday features contests in two major races on the Republican side -- governor and lieutenant governor. This may reflect a feeling that public sentiment is finally turning toward the GOP after decades of Democratic dominance. Another potentially tough contest on the Republican side was nullified when Quentin Kawananakoa withdrew from the primary for the 1st Congressional District, leaving the nomination to Gene Ward.

As in past elections, we are reserving our endorsements for the general election. However, we are concerned about the prospect of a Democratic crossover vote in an attempt to deny Linda Lingle the Republican gubernatorial nomination.

Frank Fasi is playing the role of spoiler, much as he did four years ago, when he and Ben Cayetano seemed to gang up against Pat Saiki. Now both Fasi's and Cayetano's strident campaign messages are directed against Lingle. It is hard to believe this is coincidental.

Fasi is openly inviting Democrats to choose Republican ballots in the primary and vote for him against Lingle. This is legal under the open primary law. And there is a chance it might work, because there are many more Democrats than Republicans here. But it is not good for democracy, particularly in a state that has been dominated by one party for more than 40 years.

A perennial candidate for governor, Fasi is trailing badly in the polls and has financed his campaign almost entirely with his own funds. His solution for Hawaii's economic problems, a huge increase in the hotel room tax, would be a disaster. He would probably be a much weaker candidate than Lingle against Cayetano in the general election.

It would be unfortunate if Fasi succeeded in using the open primary to eliminate Lingle from the race and allowed Cayetano to breeze to re-election.

Under-age smoking

DESPITE setbacks nationally in the effort to reduce tobacco usage among teen-agers, state health officials are making progress in their attempt to stop stores from selling cigarettes to minors. Random inspections of stores that sell cigarettes appear to have increased compliance with a state law that prohibits sales to anyone under 18 years of age.

When the Health Department conducted its first inspections in 1996, children supervised by volunteers were able to buy cigarettes at 44 percent of the 399 stores inspected. The noncompliance rate fell to 22.8 percent last year and to 15 percent this year.

Elaine Wilson, chief of the department's Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division, says those numbers indicate that merchants and their sales clerks are more aware of the law prohibiting sales to minors. It also may indicate that merchants who know about the law don't want to get caught breaking it. Violators may be fined up to $500 for a first offense, while repeat offenders can be assessed as much as $2,000.

A government report released earlier this year showed that 43 percent of the nation's high school students either smoke cigarettes or cigars or chew tobacco, up from less than 35 percent in 1995. The trend is disturbing because more than 80 percent of smokers become addicted before turning 18.

A federal appeals court last month ruled that the Food and Drug Administration lacks authority to regulate tobacco products. However, the ruling does not overturn FDA requirements that sales clerks ask for age verification of every tobacco purchaser who appears to be under 27.

The state's success in reducing the percentage of outlets selling cigarettes to minors will assure continued federal funding for alcohol and drug abuse programs. More importantly, it should lead to more people reaching the age of maturity before becoming addicted to a lethal substance.

Philippine leader

THE vice president of the Philippines is a tiny woman with a deep voice who can speak with assurance on economic affairs. On a two-day visit to Hawaii, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, an economist by training, touted her country as a good place to invest despite the Asian financial crisis. She addressed a large audience from the Filipino community at a luncheon Monday.

The vice president pointed out that the Philippines was less vulnerable than its neighbors to the economic downturn because of market reforms introduced by the previous administration of Fidel Ramos to meet the terms of the International Monetary Fund. She said the new administration of President Joseph Estrada would continue those policies while being "pro-poor."

Arguing that the Philippines enjoys more stability than its neighbors, she noted that Ramos relinquished power to Estrada peacefully although Estrada was not his choice as a successor. Unlike the United States, the Philippines elects its president and vice president separately. Macapagal-Arroyo was not Estrada's running mate and belongs to a different party.

Remarkably, her father, Diosdado Macapagal, was in the same situation. He was elected vice president in 1957 as an opposition candidate when Carlos Garcia was elected president. In 1961 he defeated Garcia for the presidency.

Macapagal-Arroyo could be a candidate for president in the next election, scheduled for 2004. In the recent campaign, she started out as a presidential candidate but switched to the vice presidential race.

Her father was excluded from the government and spent most of his term as vice president campaigning against Garcia. So far Estrada has been treating Macapagal-Arroyo better than her father was by Garcia, including her in the administration. Under the current constitution, the president is limited to one six-year term, so Estrada could not run again.

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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