Editorials
Tuesday, January 28, 1997
Morgado’s complaint
doesn’t have merit
ORGANIZED labor has long encouraged its members to vote for political candidates who it feels share their best interests. In the past Honolulu mayoral campaign, Jeremy Harris received the lion's share of such support. Candidate Arnold Morgado's recent complaint that labor unions overstepped campaign spending restrictions seems to be a stretch.
Morgado's campaign organization has filed charges with the state Campaign Spending Commission alleging that anti-Morgado fliers sent to members of some AFL-CIO affiliates should have been listed in campaign spending reports. If the labor federation or affiliates had sent fliers to nonmembers or had assigned union employees to perform campaign tasks that went unreported, Morgado would have a point.
Instead, the flier appears to have been mailed within labor circles and, as such, is merely intra-labor political communication. Says labor attorney Herbert Takahashi, "That's none of your business, what we say in our letter to our members." Takahashi is right in that the commission has no authority over what the AFL-CIO and its affiliates disseminate to their members.
The Campaign Spending Commission has its hands full, weighing more important allegations and finding ways to close serious loopholes in spending limitations. It should not be bothered with the relatively trivial accusations that seem to be at the core of the Morgado filing.
A real Jewell of a tale
WHILE Richard Jewell is a household name in this country, he is not at all happy about its notorious tinge. Now the roller-coaster story of fame gone awry - the Atlanta Olympics security guard who was first dubbed a hero, then a bombing suspect, and then a vindicated martyr - looks like it's headed for the big screen. No doubt, the movie depiction of Jewell's ordeal will be highly sympathetic to his plight and highly denigrating of the media. Perhaps, fittingly, Jewell is now exploiting the press to get his message across - that he was the innocent victim of overzealous journalists who should never make that mistake again.
Patience in Serbia
INTERNATIONAL pressure has played an important role in the largely peaceful reaction to demonstrations against the Serbian regime of Slobodan Milosevic. Increasingly, Milosevic's days as president seem numbered. The United States has taken the lead in threatening further sanctions against Milosevic's government and supporting the installation of duly-elected opposition candidates in 14 of the country's 18 largest cities in November's elections. Further pressure, along with a good deal of patience, is required.
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John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher
David Shapiro, Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor
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