Editorials
Friday, July 18, 1997THE appointment of Gary Rodrigues, state director of the United Public Workers union, to the Judicial Selection Commission makes a travesty of the prohibition on commission members taking "an active part in political management or in political campaigns." Rodrigues shouldn’t
be on judicial panelRodrigues is one of the top political power brokers in the state. His union's support is widely coveted by political candidates, especially Democrats. Along with the other public employee unions, the UPW's backing is often crucial in the outcome of elections. Putting a person in Rodrigues' position on the commission subverts its purpose, which is to reduce the influence of politics on the selection of judges.
Moreover, Rodrigues has been involved recently in two important lawsuits -- and won both of them. In a suit challenging a privately operated landfill on the Big Island, the state Supreme Court ruled that the operation violated a law protecting the jobs of government employees. As head of the Hawaii Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, Rodrigues was a party to a suit challenging the validity of the results of the vote on holding a constitutional convention. The Supreme Court also ruled in his favor on that one, too, but a federal judge has now ordered a new election.
Rodrigues also has been involved in a dispute over drug testing of city employees who are UPW members and called for the dismissal of the chief city physician who criticized alleged leniency in dealing with employees who failed drug tests.
Rodrigues was nominated to the Judicial Selection Commission by Senate President Norman Mizuguchi. Under Mizuguchi's leadership, the Senate passed a bill on the privatization issue that was so weak that the neighbor island mayors called it worse than no bill at all. It was clearly appeasement of Rodrigues.
Nor does it help that another new commission member, Max Sword, director of industry affairs for Outrigger Enterprises, is also involved in legislative lobbying. But he's a minor player compared to the UPW chief. Both Rodrigues and Sword said they would continue lobbying unless a court ordered them to stop. Even if Rodrigues stopped direct lobbying, he would continue to exert considerable influence behind the scenes.
Chief Justice Ronald Moon, who presided at the swearing-in of four newcommission members, said he was confident that their work "will enhance public confidence and trust in the process." We are anything but confident about that.
LAW enforcement gets no more difficult than the frantic manhunt for an alleged serial killer who has the entire mainland on guard. Hundreds of FBI agents and local officials blanketed South Florida in search of Andrew Cunanan for the murder of designer Gianni Versace and four previous victims. Killing rampage
Why Cunanan appears to have targeted Versace remains a mystery, unless it was simply to draw attention to himself through the designer's fame. His brazen behavior points to the probability of a violent conclusion to this rampage, hopefully before it goes further.
HAVING blocked the reappointment of Boutros Boutros-Ghali as United Nations secretary-general, the United States should support the reform efforts of his successor, Kofi Annan. The new U.N. chief proposes to reduce administrative costs by 30 percent and operate with 25 percent fewer employees. Reforming U.N.
The money the U.S. spends on the U.N. is a pittance as a portion of the federal budget. Congress should be applauding Annan's efforts, not sneering at him.
Rupert E. Phillips, CEO
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
