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Heftel plans
ads on TV
for BOE race
Other candidates find it hard
to get publicity for their campaigns
Former broadcast mogul Cecil "Cec" Heftel, who has set his sights on a seat on the school board, is turning to television and one of Hawaii's best-loved anchors to make his pitch.
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"Cec is not an educator -- he doesn't pretend to be one," said Sevey, who retired in 1986 and now lives in Olympia, Wash. "But he knows how to manage things. He's the best boss I ever had."
It is a rare foray into television advertising in the normally low-key election for board positions, which carry no salary and must share power with the Legislature and governor. Heftel said he has been frustrated that Board of Education candidates tend to be overlooked.
"I'm tired of going to rallies and not being allowed to speak," said Heftel, who expects to spend about $25,000 on the TV campaign. "We need the public to know what these people on the board think. Even the Rotary Club doesn't invite BOE candidates."
If Heftel -- a former congressman and TV station owner -- is finding it hard to get the word out, other candidates say, imagine what it's like for those who lack his name recognition.
"Unfortunately, I don't have the funds to do what Mr. Heftel can," said Marcia Sakamoto Wong, an advocate for the arts in education. "But my fellow candidates have great credentials that should be considered."
"We don't have access to his kind of money or contacts," agreed Shannon Wood, a Windward community activist in the same race. "And there are so few forums. Part of it is has to do with the sheer number of candidates who are running. Community forums don't have that kind of time."
There are 30 candidates running statewide for seven contested seats on the board, but the numbers will be winnowed down in the Sept. 18 primary election. The top two candidates for each post will advance to the general. In the mean time, school board hopefuls are trying to spread the word through traditional means: word of mouth, ads in community papers, and endorsements from organizations.
Increasingly these days, candidates are also turning to the Internet, a low-cost alternative that helped propel the candidacy of Democratic presidential contender Howard Dean. Retired business executive Bob Midkiff, another Oahu at-large candidate, has just set up his Web site, www.bobmidkiff.com. Wood is maintaining hers at www.hoku.com/sw4boe.
"I'm going to try and do it just by e-mail," Midkiff said. "I'm asking people to take the e-mail flier and send it to their friends."
Midkiff is among the better-known candidates, having served as an advisor or board member to 30 nonprofit boards and as an advocate for early childhood education. He can draw on a broad base of contacts in the charitable and business worlds.
Another candidate in the race who is using the Internet is Nobleza Magsanoc, operations manager for Pacific Resource Partnership, who has a Web site at www.noblezamagsanoc.com. She said she is running because she benefited from the public schools as an immigrant to Hawaii and wants help give others the same opportunity.
"My biggest concern is that I don't want the school system to get caught up in a political battle," she said.
Signe Godfrey, president of Olsten Staffing Services, said Friday she doesn't have a Web site and is relying on a "grass-roots effort through friends and friends of friends." She wants to decentralize education and better account for the money spent by the Department of Education.
Godfrey's campaign is also benefiting from being part of a school board slate endorsed by Gov. Linda Lingle.
Although Board of Education races are nonpartisan, a card featuring the five-member slate, which favors breaking up the statewide school system, is being distributed door-to-door by Republican candidates in their literature packages. The cards say they were produced by "Care for our Kids" without the approval or authority of the school board candidates.
All Oahu seats on the board are voted on islandwide. Neighbor island representatives are voted on by all voters outside of Oahu as a block. Television is an effective way to reach such a broad voting base, but some candidates expressed surprise at Heftel's decision to spend money that way.
"My God, that's like we're running for president or governor," Godfrey said. "That's a little way out of the box."
Garrett Toguchi, the incumbent in the at-large race, said he has tried sign-holding and printing brochures in the past, but has a hard time reaching more than a fraction of voters. To win his seat on the board, he needed roughly 100,000 votes.
"It's hard to campaign for the Board of Ed because you're either an Oahu-wide race, or a neighbor islands-wide race," Toguchi said. "In either case it's nearly impossible. TV gets your name out there."
Toguchi said he wants to focus on the basic needs of the system, attracting enough qualified teachers and principals and making sure classrooms are conducive to learning.
"One good thing about Cec, at least he's drawing attention to the race and not just to himself," Toguchi said. "It's getting the word out."
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