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Capitol View
IF Ben Cayetano were asking the unions for an endorsement this year, would he get it? What makes a Democrat and what makes a union-supported Democrat will be the No. 1 topic of discussion this weekend as the state's majority party meets in convention. Would unions still
endorse Cayetano?On the surface, the three-day party has little to quibble over. Certainly not the spoils.
The Democrats control all as far as they can see -- the state House, the state Senate, the county councils, Congress, the majority of the county mayors and even the head of the National Guard -- he's a Democrat, too.
Of course, such unity doesn't breed universal admiration, as the Wall Street Journal noted in an editorial earlier this week: "Politically, the island paradise is dominated by a one-party machine that would do Tammany Hall proud."
Although much of the excesses of Tammany Hall machine politics are gone from most of the mainland, it is still part of Hawaii's political tradition.
Pass our tests, wait your turn and we'll tell you when to run are still powers held by the Democrats in Hawaii. Maybe not in some clandestine meeting and maybe not for all Democrats, but time and time again you hear reformers say they would never have gotten elected if they listened to the party bosses telling them to "wait your turn."
Reform this year came at the urging of Governor Cayetano. Picking up a theme he first sounded after winning re-election, he said it was time for a reality check.
"Democrats, wake up and get our party in sync again and make sure we are in sync with the people," Cayetano said two years ago.
"We should thank our lucky stars that we will be able to lead our state into the next century...we'd better do what needs to be done to get this state together."
Now is that time, but his urgings have not met with a roar of approval from either fellow Democrats or union leaders.
Some 5,000 private and public union members marched on the Capitol last month to protest Cayetano's civil service reform bills. And HGEA executive director Russell Okata said he would use this weekend's convention as a sounding boarding for pro-union, pro-Democrat unity messages.
Democrats in the Legislature, however, have changed. The party has become so broad and all encompassing that a lot of politicians who should be Republicans are running and winning as conservative or business-oriented Democrats.
AS Terry Lau, head of the committee on political education for the state Federation of Labor, said on a recent talk show about the Legislature of 20 years ago: "There was a lot of respect for labor. It carried a lot of weight."
Now the unions and the Democrats will be meeting at the convention in Waikiki, with both sides looking for friends.
The unions will be starting the interview process for the candidates while the politicians will be looking for help from the unions, especially the public worker unions.
This weekend's convention marks the beginning of the campaign season. Cayetano is not running and the governor's race is two years away.
Now the question will be: Will you support a pay raise for state workers next year?
Even Cayetano was sounding like an old-fashioned Democrat when he said this week:
"Everyone wants to give teachers, university professors and all state workers a pay increase if we can afford it."
But the question will linger: If Cayetano were running again, would the unions endorse him?
Legislature Directory
Hawaii Revised Statutes
Legislature BillsRichard Borreca reports on Hawaii's politics every Wednesday.
He can be reached by e-mail at rborreca@pixi.com