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Gov hails ‘talent’ Gov. Ben Cayetano, Hawaii's No. 1 Democrat, thinks the state House has picked up some of the Republican Party's best new political talent.
of the GOP victors
Cayetano says Democrats
State electors ready votes
should get a start now for
the elections in 2002By Richard Borreca
Star-BulletinCayetano, in an interview in his Capitol office yesterday, reflected on the new GOP winners in the House. The Republicans sent a record-breaking 19 members to the House in Tuesday's election. That is the largest number of Republicans in the state House since statehood.
The Senate has three Republicans, but there have been as many as nine GOP senators.
"Some of the best talent in the Republican Party is in the state House right now," Cayetano said.
House and Senate Republicans meet today to start figuring out how they will organize. Rep. Barbara Marumoto, GOP House leader, says she doesn't expect opposition to her continuing to lead the group. She said that with control of more than one-third of the House, they are in a position to form coalitions with Democratic factions in the House to push certain pieces of legislation.
"It's going to be fun," she said.
Cayetano, however, predicted that he would have some difficult issues for his Democrats to handle during the next legislative session. Because the unions have been "part of the Democratic family," he said, his continued proposals to reform civil service and public employment are likely to be upsetting.
"It is an issue that causes great discomfort to unions... but we have to do it anyway," he said.
Democrats, Cayetano said, must start preparing for the 2002 elections.
"Talk about an opportunity for a sea change, 2002 is the whole ball of wax, the whole Senate, the House the governor and mayor," Cayetano said.
But, he worries that, given his party's performance Tuesday night, the currents could be running against Democrats.
"The party is a little tired. The stalwart of the party, the guys from the 442nd (the famed Japanese-American military unit that included U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye) may not have the energy and resources to continue to be active," Cayetano said.
But, he worried, electable young Democrats such as Reps. Ken Goodenow (D, Waimanalo) and Iris Catalani (D, Kaneohe) lost to Republicans.
"There is a danger when you are the party in power too long, you can get complacent, arrogant and lazy," he said.
While Cayetano thought Catalani and Goodenow were working, he said other Democrats were "complacent."
And regarding recruiting new candidates, Cayetano said he thought the Republicans did a better job.
His advice to Democrats now in the Legislature? The governor said Democratic legislators have to expand their vision.
"We get caught up thinking that everything happens within the four corners of this building, and we forget about the outside," he said.
"I'm on my way out, but for the guys who want to stick around, they better look outside of this building," he said.
Starbulletin.com Election Results
State Office of Elections
With the state voting results for president in, Hawaii's four representatives to the electoral college prepare to cast their votes for Al Gore. State presidential vote
goes to next stageMembers of the winning party
are chosen for the electoral college,
who vote according to the state voteBy Pat Omandam
Star-BulletinOfficially casting the votes will be Democratic Party of Hawaii members Marsha Joyner, Joy Kobashigawa-Lewis, Michael Amii and Pedro Racelis Jr.
The electors must vote the way the state voted for president.
"My understanding is we're winner-take-all," said House Minority Leader Barbara Marumoto (R- Waialae Iki), one of the designated Republican electors along with Ric Clifton, Mimi Baker and Peter Finnegan.
"Had (Republican George W.) Bush taken Hawaii, then we would have gone to the Capitol on a certain designated day and cast our ballots for the Republican candidates," she said. "But now that it's not happening, the Democrats will go and cast their ballots for Gore."
About 56 percent of Hawaii voters chose the Gore/Lieberman ticket, while 38 percent supported Bush/Cheney.
State law requires the state chief elections officer to certify to the governor the names of the presidential electors and alternatives of the same political party that received the top vote in Hawaii for president and vice president.
The governor is then required to send via registered mail to the U.S. administrator of general service the names of Hawaii's presidential electors and the total number of votes cast by the electors. Hawaii has four electoral votes.
A presidential candidate needs 270 out of 538 electoral votes nationwide to win the White House.
As of yesterday, Gore had won 255 electoral votes, while Bush had received 246.
Oregon, New Mexico and Florida account for the remaining 37 votes, with Florida being the key state with 25 votes.
Joyner is the owner of Hair Fair Salon in Waikiki who unsuccessfully challenged state Sen. Sam Slom (R-Hawaii Kai) in this year's primary election.
Kobashigawa-Lewis is a secretary in the College of Continuing Education and Community Service at the University of Hawaii.
Amii is city deputy parks director and a key campaign organizer for Mayor Jeremy Harris. The fourth Democratic elector is Pedro Racelis Jr.
The electors travel to the state Capitol to cast their votes, which they then mail to the U.S. Senate president.
State law allows electors to receive $50 for their electoral services plus round-trip transportation costs from their home to the state Capitol.
Starbulletin.com Election Results
State Office of Elections
