Frosh question
By Mike Yuen
their leadership
Star-Bulletin
When two of the Senate's most powerful lawmakers, Milton Holt and Donna Ikeda, were defeated in the 1996 elections, Sens. Les Ihara Jr. and Carol Fukunaga were convinced that a "new leadership culture" could be established.
No longer would there be kings and queens controlling the legislative process. Ihara (D, Kaimuki), now majority leader, and Fukunaga (D, Makiki), who emerged as co-chairwoman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, trumpeted a system of "partnering" and "collaboration" that would not only build consensus, but also create a vision and produce results.
For five of the Senate's six newest members, however, the lofty rhetoric hasn't matched reality.
Fearful that the Senate may not pass any legislation of significance to bolster the struggling isle economy, they nearly staged a coup earlier this week that would have ousted Ihara, Fukunaga and Avery Chumbley (D, Kihei), the Senate vice president and Judiciary Committee co-chairman, while keeping Norman Mizuguchi (D, Aiea) as Senate president.
But without the 13 votes needed to reshape the 25-member chamber's leadership, the first-term lawmakers are limited to discussing their dissatisfactions with Senate leaders rather than forcing changes in the Senate lineup.
"I believe that we are presenting the image that we are more concerned about process or form than substance," said Sen. Colleen Hanabusa (D, Waianae), one of the five freshmen senators questioning their leadership.
Added another freshman senator, David Matsuura (D, Hilo), "We don't want to be known as a do-nothing Senate."
The freshmen's disenchantment, say longtime observers of the Legislature, illustrates the difficulty of achieving "extraordinary accomplishments" -- a phrase Ihara has used -- since human intangibles such as independence, strong personalities, impatience and ambition are not easily plugged into formulas that emphasize process.
They say that while Holt was criticized for secretiveness and Ikeda for arrogance, the two also were respected as masters of the legislative process who knew how to achieve their goals.
Some senators said the freshmen bristled at Ihara's micromanagement and tendency to communicate by e-mail rather than in person; Fukunaga came under criticism for running Ways and Means in a less than open manner and for having high staff turnover.
"I think there's some frustration about wanting to be included, and we certainly want to include people as much as we can," Ihara said.Chumbley was seen as less of a problem but somewhat arrogant, they said. There's been talk in some circles that he might be, for ticket-balancing purposes, an ideal running mate for Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono, who hasn't been shy in articulating her gubernatorial ambitions.
Echoing the sentiments of his fellow first-term colleagues who confronted Mizuguchi with their concerns, Sen. Bob Nakata (D, Kaneohe) said all senators agreed during their retreat before the legislative session that the economy was their top priority.
The Senate, Nakata fears, has lost that focus.
The freshmen's concerns come as Fukunaga's panel must craft the Senate's budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal biennium, which begins July 1.
It has to be a leaner budget than what the House recently sent to the Senate because the Council on Revenues has lowered the state's tax revenue projection. That means the Senate must slash at least $45 million more.
Last year, Fukunaga and other Senate leaders felt they needed more time to craft the chamber's budget proposal, so they pushed for extra recess days.
The Senate's insistence delayed for weeks House-Senate agreement on the legislative calendar, but the House did not give in to the Senate's demand.
An old political adage goes, "Freshmen are to be seen and not heard." Senate’s feisty freshmen
urge more progressBut don't tell that to first-term Democratic Sens. Colleen Hanabusa (Waianae), David Matsuura (Hilo), Jonathan Chun (Lihue), Bob Nakata (Kaneohe) and Jan Yagi Buen (Waihee).
They've questioned Senate leaders about the pace of the Senate's work, wondering if the 25-member body will be able to pass anything of significance by session's end.
Collectively, they describe each other as strong-willed individuals who are not afraid to speak their minds.
And, says Chun, "Generally, we all like each other."
The sixth member of the Senate's Class of 1998, former Big Island Mayor Lorraine Inouye (D, Hilo), didn't join the other freshmen in questioning the Senate leadership.
Here are thumbnail sketches of three of the freshmen senators who have attracted notice in the first eight weeks of this year's legislative session:
Colleen Hanabusa
She played a key role in the push for an election recount, which showed there was no fraud and only evidence of limited machine malfunction.She even got an apology from Attorney General Margery Bronster, who had suggested that a lack of schooling among voters might be the reason for an unusually high number of disqualified ballots in a Waianae precinct.
"As you know, I'm not exactly a freshman who's not seen and not heard," says Hanabusa, 47.
An attorney, she unseated James Aki, the longtime senator who was once Senate president. Hanabusa chairs the Senate Water, Land and Hawaiian Affairs Committee.
David Matsuura
He's the son of the late Sen. Richard Matsuura, who in 1993 headed a special Senate investigation into how the Waihee administration purchased goods and services.David Matsuura, 36, says lawmakers have to act now to show the public they're doing their best to revive the isle economy.
"We took down some big guys," says Matsuura, who defeated incumbent Wayne Metcalf in the Democratic primary. "The people sent us here for a reason: They felt that something was wrong (with the Legislature). We have to act."
Richard Matsuura's dying wish was that his son be appointed to his seat. But Gov. Ben Cayetano felt that David Matsuura wasn't ready for the post. The Matsuura family vowed to get David elected. They succeeded.
Jonathan Chun
An attorney, his questioning during committee hearings at times resembles cross-examinations that are only slightly more delicate than what's found in courtrooms. And like an attorney, he's even asked witnesses at legislative hearings questions to which he knows the answer just to discover what they might say."Something went wrong. Something is being lost in the (Senate's) system, and it's not anybody's fault," says Chun, 42. "We need to look at this system and how we can make it better.
"We're all senators here. We're all responsible for the product that comes out of this house. Let's just make sure we know what we want to do."
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