More unrest:
DeSoto, Machado
leave committee

They quit Trask's panel
over her Inouye remarks

By Pat Omandam
Star-Bulletin

There are growing signs of unrest at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs board following the resignations of trustees A. Frenchy DeSoto and Colette Machado from the agency's government affairs and sovereignty committee headed by trustee Mililani Trask.

Their resignations follow that of Trustee Hannah Springer, who resigned a week ago as vice chairwoman of the OHA board and as chairwoman of its land committee.

Both DeSoto and Machado say they stepped down from the committee because of Trask's disparaging comments last month of U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye and Chairwoman Rowena Akana's poor judgement in having a Hawaiian beneficiary arrested in September.

DeSoto said OHA is in a crisis, and the only way to fix it is for Akana's resignation. The OHA leadership has reorganized every year for the past three years.

"If Rowena Akana really loves OHA then she should resign so we can begin to look for a new leader," DeSoto said today.

"She's not going to get a resignation from me," Akana responded a few minutes later.

Akana said DeSoto has asked for her resignation ever since she replaced DeSoto as chairwoman a year ago. DeSoto, Machado and trustee Haunani Apoliona are ruining chances for federal reconciliation because they are making OHA seem disorganized a week before U.S. Justice and Interior officials begin talks with Hawaiians about reconciliation, Akana said.

Akana added no one is more regretful than she is about the comments made by Trask -- who referred to Inouye as a "one-armed bandit" at a committee meeting last month. Her comments touched off a firestorm of criticism that continues to burn in the community.

Machado, in her Nov. 18 resignation memo to Akana, said Trask's continued abusive behavior compelled her to take this drastic measure. "Perhaps my absence will relieve Trustee Trask of her perceived political opposition so that she can better focus on the issues that affect our people," Machado said.

Meanwhile, the Japanese American Citizens League has written Trask saying her remarks about Inouye do not help raise support for sovereignty among Japanese-Americans.

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Office of Hawaiian Affairs