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Editorials
Monday, September 25, 2000Harris victory defied
public worker unionsThe issue: Jeremy Harris won re-election as mayor despite the opposition of the two chief public employee unions, the UPW and HGEA.
OAHU voters -- the few who turned out, anyway -- defied the main public employee unions to give Jeremy Harris a resounding vote of confidence in his bid for re-election as mayor. Despite the endorsement of Mufi Hannemann by the UPW, the HGEA and the Teamsters, and the spoiler tactics of Frank Fasi, Harris narrowly won an outright victory by exceeding 50 percent of the vote, avoiding a runoff in November.
Harris' hard work and innovative ideas in the face of severe fiscal constraints made his triumph a deserved one. It left him on course to seek the governorship in 2002 although he may face HGEA and UPW opposition in that battle as well, because he refused to knuckle under to their demands. That is one reason for everyone else to support him.
Meanwhile, Hannemann fared well enough to make him a credible candidate for mayor two years from now if Harris resigns to run for governor.
Another unusual expression of public disdain for the public worker union establishment was evident in the re-election victory of state Rep. Ed Case of Manoa, who led the campaign in the House for Governor Cayetano's civil service reform program against union opposition. In retaliation, the HGEA denied Case its endorsement, supporting a little-known opponent who was soundly trounced.
It was also heartening to see the defeats of two state senators -- Democrat Marshall Ige and Republican Whitney Anderson -- who voted against the reconfirmation of Margery Bronster as attorney general.
Ige's loss to little-known Solomon Naluai in the Kaneohe-Kailua district was largely self-inflicted. Ige has been charged with seven misdemeanor counts related to alleged campaign contributions from the former Bishop Estate under the since-ousted trustees.
Anderson, whose wife worked for the Bishop Estate, faced much stronger opposition from Fred Hemmings, the former state legislator and candidate for governor, in the Kailua-Waimanalo district. However, Anderson's vote against Bronster probably figured in his defeat.
Association with the ousted trustees seems to have become the kiss of political death -- a sign that democracy is still alive in Hawaii.
In the congressional primary races, there were no surprises. All three Democratic incumbents cruised to victory.
The winner of the Republican senatorial primary, John Carroll, faces an uphill fight against Daniel Akaka, but Carroll, with a long record as a state legislator and as one-time state GOP chairman, is more than a token candidate.
Similarly, Russ Francis has considerable name recognition, based largely on his prowess as a football player, in his race against Rep. Patsy Mink.
However, Rep. Neil Abercrombie, who faced serious challenges in past elections from Orson Swindle and Gene Ward, should have no trouble defeating the little-known Phil Meyers.
Fujimori’s surprise
ALBERTO Fujimori has stunned Peru by announcing that he was calling early elections, and that he would not be a candidate for re-election as president.
The declaration came after Peruvian television showed a video of Fujimori's chief aide and intelligence chief, Vladimiro Montesinos, allegedly bribing an opposition legislator. Fujimori also announced that he was disbanded the notorious intelligence service, which was headed by Montesinos.
Fujimori, who was re-elected to a third five-year term in a highly controversial election in May, evidently decided to step down rather than deal with the fallout from the bribery scandal. This comes on top of withering criticism over his last election. Since that widely discredited exercise, he has been treated as a pariah by the world community for making a mockery of the democratic process.
The challenge now is to create conditions for free and honest elections. Fujimori has proposed a vote in March but the opposition demands a vote in four months, with a transitional government in the interim.
Montesinos, who had been in hiding for more than a week, has fled to Panama, where the government is expected to grant him political asylum. His flight appeared to reduce if not eliminate the possibility that he could rally the army to stage a coup. The military has issued a statement giving Fujimori its backing.
The government has announced that an investigation of the Montesinos bribery allegations is under way, and international pressure is being applied in an attempt to ensure that the probe is credible.
The son of Japanese immigrants, Fujimori was an unknown college professor only months before his upset victory in the 1990 presidential election. He gained popularity by smashing a guerrilla movement and introducing economic reforms. But his reputation soured when he resorted to dictatorial measures to achieve results.
At the time of the disputed election in May, Fujimori appeared impervious to criticism of his arbitrary tactics. Now he has apparently had a change of heart -- one that appears to be to the country's benefit.
Fujimori's startling reversal provides an opportunity for a rebirth of democracy in Peru. It is an opportunity that must not be squandered.
Published by Liberty Newspapers Limited PartnershipRupert E. Phillips, CEO
John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher
David Shapiro, Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor
