Can ‘has-been’
Fasi help Cayetano?

A political scientist thinks not, but
the governor's camp believes otherwise

By Mike Yuen
Star-Bulletin

Frank Fasi's endorsement of Democratic Gov. Ben Cayetano won't do much to energize Cayetano's re-election campaign, says a University of Hawaii political scientist who's also co-chairman of the Hawaii Green Party.

"He's kind of a has-been," Ira Rohter said of Fasi, 78, the political maverick who in four years has lost two gubernatorial races and one mayoral bid. "When he throws his weight to someone who's seen to be on a sinking ship, what does that mean?

"I just don't think Fasi is going to revive Cayetano's campaign."

Rohter's assessment came yesterday after Fasi -- the former longtime Honolulu mayor who decisively lost the Republican gubernatorial nomination to Maui Mayor Linda Lingle last week -- announced that he was backing Cayetano, 58.

Fasi's reasons:

Lingle, 45, lost her home county as "those who know her best" didn't vote for her.

She is reluctant to publicly discuss "troubling aspects of her so-called 'Maui miracle.'"

She has "an unclear vision" to turn Hawaii's anemic economy around.

"As I stated in my campaign, there are differences between Ben Cayetano and me, but what we have in common is a lifelong dedication to the 'little guy,'" said Fasi, a former Democrat who has also headed his own third party.

A Lingle victory would make Hawaii regress to when the isles were controlled by the Big Five companies, which were part of a white oligarchy, asserted Fasi.

Rohter, whose Green Party isn't fielding a gubernatorial ticket this year, said Fasi has a following which sees him as an outsider challenging the political establishment. But it is hard to believe they will perceive Cayetano as an outsider, he said.

"I don't think Fasi can transfer much support," said Rohter, an associate professor of political science. "It's not like he's turning over an army to Ben Cayetano. He's pretty much a one-man band. I didn't see a large number of people waving signs for him. (His endorsement) doesn't seem potent."

UH political science professor Yasumasa Kuroda and Ann Kobayashi, Cayetano's campaign co-chairwoman, were more generous in their assessment of Fasi's endorsement.

Kuroda believes Fasi's followers will take note of his backing of Cayetano. But perhaps just as important, if not more, is Cayetano's need to get back into the Democratic tent party supporters who crossed over into the GOP primary to vote for Lingle, Kuroda said.

And Cayetano needs to exploit the fact that Lingle couldn't carry her own county, he said.

Said Kobayashi: "Fasi survived all these years carrying the independent voter. Those are the voters we are trying to reach."

The Cayetano campaign would be open to possibly having Fasi appear in Cayetano television spots, Kobayashi added.

Lingle said she was not surprised that Fasi endorsed Cayetano.

"Frank Fasi is always unpredictable," she said. "I want his supporters to know that I welcome them to my campaign. I know they are people who want change from the current leadership."

Her campaign may be indirectly aided by Fasi spurning a fellow Republican because his action could re-energize her campaign workers to work harder to try to ensure that she wins in November, she said.

Lingle added that early in the gubernatorial campaign, she "did have a feeling" that Fasi was a stalking horse for Cayetano in the GOP primary.

"I guess everyone can judge for themselves, given how things have turned out," she said.

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Some Maui teachers
to rebel if union
endorses Cayetano

By Mike Yuen
Star-Bulletin

Rebeling against their union leadership, 28 teachers at King Kamehameha III School in Lahaina have declared they will support Republican gubernatorial nominee Linda Lingle, even if the Hawaii State Teachers Association endorses Democratic Gov. Ben Cayetano.

The HSTA, which has delayed making an endorsement in the governor's race, is scheduled to decide tomorrow which gubernatorial ticket it will support in the general election.

Two polls of its 12,000 members revealed that the majority support Lingle, who is in her final term as Maui mayor.

The Cayetano campaign has been airing radio spots in which former HSTA President June Motokawa voices her personal endorsement of Cayetano.

Motokawa said last night she knows that Cayetano has done more for education than any other first-term governor in Hawaii.

In their open letter, dated yesterday, the elementary-school teachers claim that leaders of HSTA, which has traditionally favored Democratic candidates, "is choosing to ignore the voice of its members for its own political agenda."

"We feel that your job is to reflect the position of the majority of your members whatever it may be and, further, that the personal politics of the executive committee should be excluded from any endorsements that are made," they wrote.

Lingle said the King Kamehameha teachers have taken a courageous stand for what they believe is right.

She added that one HSTA representative on the Big Island resigned in protest over what was perceived as the union leadership's effort to swing HSTA's endorsement to Cayetano.