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Few candidates
file for OHA seats

The high court should rule
in August on whether just
four or all nine trustee
seats are up for election

By Pat Omandam
Star-Bulletin

The U.S. Supreme Court's Rice vs. Cayetano decision has affected the number of people considering a run for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs board of trustees.

As of today, only four people have taken out OHA candidate filing papers, far behind the 24 people who did so by this day in 1998, says the state Office of Elections.

Some say potential candidates are waiting for the Hawaii Supreme Court to rule on a joint motion by the state and OHA on whether the Feb. 23 Rice decision created vacancies on the board. The dispute centers on whether four or all nine trustee seats are up for election this fall.

A ruling on the joint motion is now expected in August, giving Hawaiians interested in running little time to decide if they should toss in their hats before the Sept. 8 OHA filing deadline.

The ruling on the Rice case -- which opened up the Hawaiians-only elections to all registered voters starting with November's general election -- has changed a run for OHA from a low-key grass-roots effort to a high-stakes, big-bucks campaign, say some potential candidates.

Candidates must now seek support not just from the Hawaiian community but from the rest of the voting public as well, said Annelle Amaral, a former state lawmaker and an unsuccessful candidate for OHA in 1998.

Amaral said yesterday the Rice decision has had a "chilling effect" on potential candidates because of the expense involved in a statewide campaign. No matter which island they seek to represent, OHA hopefuls will have to engage in statewide advertising in television, radio and print to gain name recognition, she said.

In the past, Amaral said, OHA candidates simply worked to gain votes within the various Hawaiian homestead associations and Hawaiian civic clubs.

"It's even harder now, because you've got to figure out how to get the message out to the non-Hawaiian community who will be voting -- and that's what will make this an expensive bid for the seat," said Amaral, who doesn't plan to run for OHA this year.

Darrow L. Kanakanui Aiona, who came in sixth for three at-large trustee seats in 1998, said he wants to run again but needs to know from the Hawaii justices how many seats are open. The former Board of Education member will run only if all nine seats are up for grabs because, under that scenario, there will be more at-large seats open.

"I'm waiting for the judges ... I think with a lot of people voting, my chances will be probably better with all the non-Hawaiians," Aiona said.

Hawaii Chief Justice Ronald T.Y. Moon on May 30 responded to the joint motion by asking both OHA and the state to file briefs in the next 60 days that address the questions raised before the court. Gov. Ben Cayetano believes the Rice decision creates immediate vacancies on the OHA board, requiring him to appoint interim trustees. OHA claims the ruling affects only the voting restriction and not the status of sitting trustees.

OHA has until June 29 to submit its brief, while the state has until July 28, said state Deputy Attorney General Gerard Lau.

The 60-day period, however, means the justices will most likely issue a ruling sometime in August.

Les Among, one of the four candidates taking out papers for the OHA board, said he is waiting to hear from the high court but that won't stop his candidacy.

Among, a program/entertainment director at Outrigger Hotels, believes he has a better chance of winning now that non-Hawaiians can vote for trustees and that it will ultimately make for a better OHA board.

"I think the non-Hawaiian vote is going to make a difference," said the Waikiki Neighborhood Board member. "I actually think the non-Hawaiian vote will come in and rescue my Hawaiian people."

OHA candidate Linda Ka'auwai-Iwamoto added she'll run this fall no matter how many seats are up. As a homestead assistant for the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, she feels the current OHA board has forgotten its purpose of helping Hawaiians, especially in education, health and welfare.

"What I do here (at her home lands job) is limited," she said. "Going into OHA, it's not limited. There's many places that you can help all of the people rather than just this group."

The seats held by OHA Vice Chairwoman Colette Machado and trustees Haunani Apoliona, Hannah Springer and Donald Cataluna expire this fall. They haven't yet said whether they will seek re-election. The three women ran as a slate during the 1996 elections.

The terms of OHA Chairman Clayton Hee and trustees A. Frenchy DeSoto, Louis Hao, Rowena Akana and Mililani Trask expire in 2002 unless the Hawaii Supreme Court rules their seats vacant due to the Rice decision.

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