CNN Asia anchor Dalton Tanonaka will have to make himself familiar to Hawaii Republicans if he wants their support in his bid next year for lieutenant governor, said Republican state Rep. Charles Djou. Tanonaka looks to raise
issues, profile in GOP bidBy Pat Omandam
pomandam@starbulletin.com"Certainly, he's been on the news before as a reporter, but I think his views, his personality and his approach to public policy is certainly unknown to the voters and, I think, to the Republican Party," said Djou (R, Kaneohe).
"So he's an unknown quantity to a lot of the rank-and-file and hard-core loyal supporters in the GOP," said Djou, who is exploring his own candidacy for the state's second-highest seat.
Other who have expressed interest in the Republican lieutenant governor's race are Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee Oswald "Oz" Stender, state Sen. Bob Hogue (R, Enchanted Lake) and state Rep. David Pendleton (R, Maunawili).
Tanonaka is the first Republican to declare his candidacy for the seat.
The 47-year-old announced yesterday he will leave his job as senior anchor at CNN's Asia headquarters on Dec. 7 and return to his Honolulu home where he will begin his campaign.
The Kohala native anchors CNN's "BizAsia" program, a Hong Kong-based daily program on Asian economic issues which reaches about 160 million people in 212 countries. He said he wants to use his international knowledge and contacts to help revitalize and diversify the state economy.
Tanonaka said he is running as a Republican because Hawaii's Democratic Party has not done the job. He said he believes Hawaii GOP Chairwoman Linda Lingle will win the 2002 race for governor, and he wants to be part of this turning point in Hawaii.
Tanonaka said he has had discussions with Lingle and GOP Executive Director Micah Kane about his candidacy, which they support but have not given an endorsement. They could not be reached for comment yesterday.
"I know political history of Hawaii, I know my roots," Tanonaka said.
"But this is not 1954 and this is not even 1994. I see this route, and I chose this route, because I see it as the credible vehicle for making the crucial changes that we need in Hawaii at this time."
In 1999, Tanonaka served as city economic development coordinator under Mayor Jeremy Harris. He said his experiences there encouraged him to seek the right kind of leadership in government.
He began his career as a journalist in 1977 as a Hawaii TV reporter. He later worked in television news in Denver and Portland, Ore., before moving to Asia in 1990. He has written three books on his Asia-Pacific experiences.
Tanonaka recently signed a $1-a-year contract with the University of Hawaii as a special assistant to Joyce Tsunoda, UH senior advisor for international affairs. One of his priorities, if elected, is to make the UH an economic engine for the state, as Stanford University is to Silicon Valley in California.
Tanonaka said he became a Republican only recently because he could not get involved in politics while a journalist. His only elective office was as sixth-grade class president at Waialae School.
While his name recognition and ethnicity (Japanese-Korean) could help the Republican gubernatorial ticket in the 2002 election, Tanonaka said he is not relying on that. Instead, he will conduct a grass-roots campaign so people can know him and what he stands for.
"I don't know what the perceptions are for the party. All I'm doing this for is to raise issues and offer ideas that I think can help us," Tanonaka said.
"I'm not here to balance anybody's ticket."