OHA trustees
defend expenses to
oppose Con Con

Critics say Hawaiians
look bad in opposing
constitutional debate

By Pat Omandam
Star-Bulletin

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs so far has spent more than $157,000 to get Hawaii residents to vote against a state constitutional convention.

But some feel the money could be better spent, although OHA officials disagree.

"Why does OHA not want a Con Con?" Johanna Lawrence asked OHA trustees Thursday. "Hawaiians are fighters. Why are they afraid of protecting their rights and benefits?"

According to a spending report filed Friday with the state Campaign Spending Commission, the OHA Non-candidate Committee spent a total of $157,394 in its "Vote No on Con Con" campaign. About 61 percent of that amount was spent during the reporting period of Sept. 20 to Oct. 18, when OHA paid $97,400 for television and print ads, as well as research and polling.

Among those expenditures was $12,049 to Hagadone Printing Co. for 70,000 mailings to Hawaiian beneficiaries. The brown trifolded mailers, printed on thick construction paper, list several reasons to vote against a Con Con. Among them are the cost to hold a Constitutional Convention and the possible elimination of native Hawaiian rights and entitlements.

OHA Chairwoman A. Frenchy DeSoto said the agency is adamantly opposed to a Con Con before a sovereign Hawaiian nation is created because it makes no sense to spend the millions of dollars needed to conduct the convention only to go through another Con Con to incorporate amendments from the creation of a sovereign nation of Hawaii.

Hawaiians, she explained, also could lose hard-won victories since OHA was created in the 1978 Con Con, including the expansion of gathering, fishing and water rights, as well as improved ability to practice Hawaiian culture.

Also, OHA fears a Con Con could set a precedent that prompts Congress to make changes to the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act.

But Lawrence, who reguarly attends OHA meetings, said the agency's effort to squash the Con Con demeans trustees and Hawaiians because it shows the public they are incapable of defending their rights at a convention.

Also, it doesn't help bring Hawaiians together, she said.

Ryan Mielke, OHA public information officer, said yesterday the Con Con campaign is part of a larger effort for which OHA has appropriated $1.32 million in trust funds.

The money allows OHA to spend $500,000 to produce ads such as those on the Con Con, as well as for OHA's "Focus on Fairness" ads being run during the OHA-state negotiations over past-due revenue from ceded lands.

An additional $820,000 has been set aside for television, radio and print ads, he said. During this reporting period, OHA paid $66,981 for local television spots and $9,687.16 for print ads.

Meanwhile, OHA Vice Chairwoman Haunani Apoliona said if the Con Con question passes, the agency would work to get Hawaiian delegates to the convention to ensure their rights.