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Capitol View
FOR Hawaiians, the millennium starts with great potential, not for progress but for disaster. Driven by the logic of the U.S. Supreme Court decision to uphold equal voting rights for all Americans, the forces against business as usual extend to other areas. OHA trustees
misplayed their handIf non-Hawaiians can vote in Office of Hawaiian Affairs elections, then, by extension, non-Hawaiians can also be elected to OHA. If barring non-Hawaiians from access to the OHA ballot is discrimination, will it follow that barring non-Hawaiians from programs, schools, and other services is also legally logical?
And most important, if non-Hawaiians, elected by non-Hawaiians, are on the board, the question isn't if the board will change, but by how much.
So far, OHA trustees have reacted to the OHA debacle in exactly the wrong way.
By first putting all of their political capital into fighting the Rice vs. Cayetano lawsuit and piling everything up on the high moral ground, saying their side was right and making no plans for a possible defeat, they were left without an argument after the Supreme Court ruled against them.
They then followed their own illogical path by fighting Gov. Ben Cayetano's interpretation that they couldn't legally continue to hold office because their election was tainted.
So after failing to plan for a disaster, the trustees actually worsened their position by fighting Cayetano, who ultimately was proven correct.
This week he appointed new trustees to replace the ones forced to resign last week.
Those out-of-work trustees were left to howl at their own misjudgments and mistakes. The most tragic example of how poorly OHA trustees played their hand was the sister of defrocked trustee Mililani Trask standing in front of Washington Place holding an obscene sign.
Cayetano earlier in the day had candidly explained why he didn't reappoint Trask to the board. Recalling her slurs against Sen. Dan Inouye, Cayetano said her remarks were racist and were only causing more controversy.
Trask responded with more name-calling, but the matter was over. Trask resigned and was out. She lost.
A Cayetano victory now isn't in question, but it is fair to ask what will be the result of all the OHA fumbles.
FIRST, OHA is likely to be run by a broader-based group of trustees. By including all citizens in the election, more candidates will be able to appeal to more voters.
The issues are likely to remain the same: to legitimately address the overthrow of the Hawaiian nation, to compensate Hawaiians for past wrongs, but, equally important, to actively insure that Hawaiians are moving up and not down the social, education, economic and political scales.
As Cayetano has pointed out, the past OHA board has been too dysfunctional to address the needs of Hawaiians.
Even after the election, OHA will still have to deal with Rice vs. Cayetano aftershocks. One result could be that OHA simply has less of a seat at the table and that the bigger decisions are made by the community at large, Hawaiian and non-Hawaiian.
That's not to say that Hawaiians would be left out. It may be that the true Hawaiian dialogue isn't conducted in the OHA boardroom but in the Legislature.
If Hawaiians elect enough Hawaiians to the Legislature, creating a true Hawaiian voting bloc, then representation by Hawaiians, for Hawaiians will carry the needed weight and responsibility to accomplish what OHA has missed.
Richard Borreca reports on Hawaii's politics every Wednesday.
He can be reached by e-mail at rborreca@starbulletin.com