On Politics Richard Borreca

---

Flexibility, vision needed at all levels

WE ARE starting a new year with plenty of questions. Not the usual queries, such as, "When are we going to get serious about global warming? Do my taxes really have to be this high? When will teachers brag that the best public schools in the nation are in Hawaii?"

No, this year the inquiry is more parochial. The question is, "When will the dissident Democrats and the Republicans learn to play together?"

The state House has developed a sizeable number of young, smart and ambitious Democrats who failed to topple Calvin Say as House speaker, but so far they haven't figured out the honorable political tactic of making allies of convenience with the eight House Republicans. And the GOP also doesn't seem to appreciate political flexibility.

In past years, Democrats on the outs and the perennial minority GOP would get together for a few hours of floor votes to pull bills from committee to force an issue or make a point at the expense of the majority Democrats. This year's group doesn't seem to appreciate bipartisan mischief-making.

A MORE serious question is how much longer will Oahu property owners dumbly watch their taxes soar with no real change from the City Council? Mayor Mufi Hannemann knows how politically volatile tax increases can be and he has proposed a new assessment plan.

But the real issue is that the Council and administration can spend millions more, thanks to property value increases, without having to defend their obvious tax hike.

Democrats on both the municipal and state levels have another question: Can they resist the temptation to come out for Illinois Sen. Barack Obama before the political superstar even announces for president?

So far Obama has created a sensation by just mulling over the race, but presidential politics is a game where you only get to endorse once.

THE FINAL question as we enter 2007 is about Republican Gov. Linda Lingle and her own plans. Somewhere between calling for the transformation of the state's economy by stopping the buying and selling of real estate and handing out high school basketball trophies, Lingle must have a dream of Hawaii's future.

So far Lingle has not been able to answer the critics who say her administration has been ministerial, not visionary.

Of course, Lingle must work across the aisle with Democrats hoping she will stumble, but she still has the power to set a more clearly defined course.

Republicans have a more difficult time because their campaign promises of lower taxes, less government and more personal responsibility don't answer the question of what will Hawaii look like in 10 years.

If Lingle can solve that one, with a strong and understandable program that gives hope for years beyond 2007, then her legacy will be assured.