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The united trustees reject the
governor's move to replace them;
Mililani Trask calls for
civil disobedience

OHA's staff of 125 offers loans, grants
Senate hearings discuss Rice ruling

By Pat Omandam
Star-Bulletin

Office of Hawaiian Affairs Chairman Clayton Hee recalls that in the mid-1980s when they were both senators, Ben Cayetano told him it was always better to take the offensive.

Some 15 years later, Hee still finds his close friend striking first.

This time, Gov. Cayetano says this week's U.S. Supreme Court decision obligates him to appoint new interim trustees to replace eight of the nine members of the board, including Hee.

"He has taken the offense," Hee said. "We intend to respond in kind."

A united OHA board said yesterday it will seek "any and all remedies" to protect its trust and to continue to serve as trustees. Their defiance comes as state attorneys and others agree the governor has a right to replace the board now that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled the state's Hawaiians-only elections that selected the trustees are unconstitutional.

YOU MAKE THE CALL Do you agree or disagree with Gov. Ben Cayetano's decision to replace all but one of the elected OHA trustees? Call 545-5867 up to 8 p.m. today to leave your opinion. Please leave a brief reason for your answer, your full name, telephone number and the area you live in. A reporter may call you back. You may also send responses by e-mail, to youmakethecall@starbulletin.com.

The full board meets again Monday to discuss legal strategy to block the governor's move. It has retained the help of former Gov. John Waihee, whose law firm worked with OHA on the Rice case.

Trustees have also received free legal advice from retired Hawaii Supreme Court Associate Justice Robert Klein, who spoke to the board during a two-hour closed meeting yesterday.

Simply put, Hee said, trustees will not step down because there are no legal justifications to do so.

"Further, I believe that Hawaiian people expect us to continue to execute our duties that we were elected by Hawaiian people to perform. To step away from that would be to breach that trust that we are obligated to serve," Hee said.

'As Hawaiians, we cannot entrust our
right to self-determination to those who have
violated this right for over 100 years.'

Mililani Trask

OHA TRUSTEE

Moreover, one trustee has called for massive protests against the ruling. Trustee Mililani Trask, who is expected to return to work today following a trip to Geneva, called upon all Hawaiians to demand the reinstitution and federal recognition of the Hawaiian nation.

In a written statement yesterday, Trask said the time for civil disobedience -- or 'onipa'a kakou -- has come.

"As Hawaiians, we cannot entrust our right to self-determination to those who have violated this right for over 100 years," she said.

"Hawaiians are capable of restructuring a nation which is representative of our peoples and able to exercise jurisdiction over our vast lands and resources for which we must now fight and protect."

Others oppose governor

Cayetano said yesterday that since the Supreme Court invalidated the election of the current trustees, reappointing the current trustees would "make a mockery of the spirit" of the ruling. The governor said he is empowered by law to fill board vacancies, and intends to replace eight trustees, including his friend Hee. Cayetano had earlier appointed Kauai trustee Don Cataluna to fill a vacancy on the board.

Many in the Hawaiian community, however, believe appointing new trustees is premature and unnecessary, given the OHA elections were set for this November.

ASSETS: $377 MILLION Here's a snapshot of OHA's trust fund as of Dec. 31, 1999: Investment portfolio (market value): On account: $27 million Stocks/equities: $225 million Fixed income/bonds: $103 million Cash investments: $22 million Total cash and investments: $377 million. Source: Ka Wai Ola o OHA, February 2000 issue

"I think the governor has really done a disservice to himself and a disservice to Hawaiians," said Kina'u Boyd Kamali'i, a former OHA trustee and state lawmaker.

Kamali'i said the Supreme Court opinion did not say the trustees had to be immediately replaced. And she criticized Cayetano for not meeting first with trustees and the Hawaiian community to get their comments before stating he would replace the trustees.

Cayetano is away on a business trip and returns from the mainland Tuesday.

"It's obvious. He's ticked off at the board and he wants to get rid of them," she said.

Hawaiians in a quandary

Former Big Island Mayor Dante Carpenter, who served with Cayetano in the state Senate, said the governor's actions and the Supreme Court ruling create a quandary for Hawaiians because they weaken OHA to a large degree and disenfranchise Hawaiians because everyone can now vote in OHA elections.

"What does this do to the whole of OHA?" asked Carpenter, a delegate to the Native Hawaiian Convention proposing models of sovereignty before Hawaiian voters.

R. Keoni Fairbanks, executive director of the Kahoolawe Island Reserve Commission, said he's puzzled by the timeliness of the action with the OHA elections this year.

Fairbanks said trustee Colette Machado currently serves as the commission's vice president and it would be a loss for the commission if she was replaced with someone else from OHA.

Meanwhile, state lawmakers pushed on with hurried plans to address the court ruling and Cayetano's plan to appoint trustees. In a memorandum yesterday to all House members, House Judiciary Chairman Eric Hamakawa (D, Hilo) said OHA elections are now open to all voters in November.

Legislature considers options

Beyond that, he said, the Legislature has three options:

It can do nothing, which means that any reference to race or ancestry in determining voter eligibility in OHA elections is automatically deleted from state law.

It can propose a constitutional amendment to reaffirm the electoral process for OHA trustees, provided it will be open to all eligible voters in 2002.

Or it can propose an amendment to convert the elected system to an appointed one, effective in 2002.

Hamakawa's committee holds a hearing at 10 a.m. tomorrow in the state Capitol auditorium on three bills that would address these options.

In the other chamber, Senate President Norman Mizuguchi (D, Aiea) has finalized plans for a series of statewide hearings tomorrow through Thursday to gather input on the issue. Sen. Colleen Hanabusa (D, Waianae) will conduct the hearings.

"We especially encourage the native Hawaiian community to attend the hearings and provide input to help us develop legislation that will make voting for OHA trustees lawful in terms of the decision," Mizuguchi said.

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OHA board mixes rookies, longtimers Here are the nine trustees who make up the Office of Hawaiian Affairs board: Rowena Akana: First elected in 1992. Term expires in 2002. Haunani Apoliona: Elected in 1996. Term expires in 2000. Donald Cataluna: Appointed in January 2000. Term expires in 2000. A. Frenchy DeSoto: First elected in 1980. Term expires in 2002. Louis Hao: Re-elected in 1998 (served as trustee from 1984-1992). Term expires in 2002. Clayton Hee: Board chairman. First elected in 1990. Term expires in 2002. Colette Machado: Board vice chairwoman. Elected in 1996. Term expires in 2000. Hannah Springer: Elected in 1996. Term expires in 2000. Mililani Trask: Elected in 1998. Term expires in 2002. Here are the number of Hawaiian voters who turned for recent OHA elections, which are held along with the state's general election every other November. 1998 Registered OHA voters: 100,163 Number who voted: 64,806 Percent: 64.7 1996 Registered OHA voters: 87,298 Number who voted: 52,102 Percent: 59.7 1994 Registered OHA voters: 74,766 Number who voted: 55,424 Percent: 73.2

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OHA’s staff of 125
offers loans, grants

By Pat Omandam
Star-Bulletin

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs was created by the grass-roots efforts of Hawaiian organizations culminating in what was called the Native Hawaiian legislative package at the 1978 Hawaii Constitutional Convention.

Among the changes to the state Constitution approved by delegates was the creation of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs as a public trust, with the mandate to better the conditions of both native Hawaiians and the Hawaiian community in general.

The agency was funded with a one-fifth share of the revenues from state ceded lands -- 1.8 million acres that once belonged to the Hawaiian monarchy.

The state and OHA are in a court battle over how to determine OHA's share of the revenues from ceded lands.

In 1979, the state Legislature made OHA a semiautonomous and self-governing body, led by nine elected trustees chosen by those of Hawaiian ancestry.

The agency today has a staff of 125 and administers 11 programs that serve Hawaiian beneficiaries, including health and human services, culture, land and natural resources, economic development, education and housing.

Here are some of the agency's highlights for fiscal year 1999:

Funded $935,766 in community grants.

Provided $14 million in loans to 325 Hawaiian-owned small businesses since the inception of the Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan Fund.

Assisted 3,794 people with its statewide multiservice referral project.

Approved $7 million in homestead loans.

Renovated and leased the Waialua Courthouse.

Published or organized the 1999 Native Hawaiian Data Book, 12 monthly newspapers, two major documentary videos and a major public relations effort in Washington, D.C., as part of the Rice vs. Cayetano case.

Along with its own Web site, OHA created a new Web site for the Rice case.

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Senate hearings discuss Rice ruling The state Senate will hold statewide public hearings to discuss the consequences of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the Rice vs. Cayetano case. Call Sen. Colleen Hanabusa's office at 586-7793 for more information. Here is the schedule: Kauai: 9:30 a.m. tomorrow, King Kaumualii Elementary School cafeteria, Hanamaulu. Molokai: 1 p.m. Sunday, Kulana Oiwi Hale, Kalamaula. Maui: 5:30 p.m. Monday, Paukukalo Community Center, Wailuku. Hawaii: 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Hilo High School cafeteria. Oahu: 2 p.m. Wednesday, State Capitol Auditorium. Oahu: 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nanakuli High School cafeteria. Oahu: 7 p.m. Thursday in Waimanalo (place to be determined).

U.S. Public Law 103-150 OHA Ceded Lands Ruling Rice vs. Cayetano Feb. 23, 2000: The U.S. Supreme Court in a 7-2 vote strikes down the practice of allowing only native Hawaiians to vote in OHA elections. Office of Hawaiian Affairs