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A handful of unsuccessful candidates in last year's election have turned up at the same building where they had hoped to hold office -- the state Capitol. Election also-rans
snap up supporting
roles behind scenesMentally retarded adults volunteer at
Capitol, learn skills, help their causeBy Lisa Asato
Star-BulletinInstead of making laws, however, they're clerking, crunching numbers and managing offices for those who do.
"I'm just a staffer ... John Q. Public," said former Rep. Brian Yamane, who last year lost the seat he had held for six years.
Yamane says the decision to return wasn't so easy.
People told him his ego was too big to handle the step down from lawmaker to part-time staffer, said Yamane, now a committee clerk for Rep. Joe Souki of northwest Maui.
But Yamane said he's proving doubters wrong. And now that he finds himself in a supportive role, he's grateful for the lighter workload. Even former colleagues notice the difference. "People tell me I smile a lot more," he said.
Among the group of about eight would-be legislators, there is also a small-businessman, a recent University of Hawaii graduate, a retired grandfather of two and a private investigator.
Sam Moku, 36, started and ran three cafes on Oahu before challenging Ken Ito for his House seat last year. Moku lost by 650 votes. Now he manages a different kind of business -- the office of Senate newcomer Bob Hogue. Moku said his position as office manager will either make or break his political aspirations.
"It's almost like an internship ... the only difference is I get to understand all the issues, deal with constituents, all the politics that go on just to get a bill heard, and not have to sign my name on the dotted line," he said.
Mike Marques, chief of staff for GOP Rep. Jim Rath of South Kohala and North Kona, took his loss in stride, and he commended others like him who signed on to work here after unsuccessful campaigns.
"If they came back to this building, they didn't lose," says Marques, a Capitol staffer since 1998. "If they didn't come back maybe they lost."
The former police officer and state fraud investigator added: "I find I get more respect. All the legislators knew that I ran and a lot were wishing me luck, Democrats and Republicans. Maybe they had ran and lost before. ... They told me, 'I give you credit for trying. We know what you went through because we gotta do that every two years.' "
Working alongside lawmakers gives political hopefuls a leg up. It's the place to be to make contacts, network. As Capitol veteran Kippen Chu put it, it's where aspirants can learn early on "which of the incumbents aren't going to run again so (hopefuls) can move into their district."
Chu has worked at the Legislature for 10 years. He ran for office six years ago and lost. He says every year a few losing candidates are drawn back to the Capitol to work as staff.
Office manager Nathan Takeuchi, in his fifth year at the Legislature, said his defeat in the primaries to incumbent Rep. Nobu Yonamine, left him facing a strange reality.
"All through the campaign you imagine yourself working in the position of representative," Takeuchi said. "It's like you lose but then you're still here."
As for plans to run again in 2002, none of those interviewed committed either way. But most hinted at another try. When asked what became of his campaign signs, Takeuchi replied, "I haven't thrown them away."
Twenty-one-year-old Jackie Takase is getting a front-row view of civics in action. Mentally retarded
adults volunteer at
Capitol, learn skills,
help their causeBy Lisa Asato
Star-BulletinAs a client of the Arc in Hawaii, formerly the Association for Retarded Citizens, Takase is one of 31 adults with mental retardation volunteering this week at the state Capitol.
Not only is Takase helping Sen. J. Kalani English's staff file House and Senate bills in preparation for crossover, a major legislative deadline, she'll also witness a hearing today that will affect the Arc's Wahiawa center, where she attends a day program.
The House Energy and Environmental Protection Committee is holding a hearing on a bill that may revive the Wahiawa gas station -- defunct as of 9 last night -- where the center fills up its vans.
The Union 76 station is the only neighborhood station that accepts the Arc's gas card, said Charmaine Elliott, an assistant instructor at the Wahiawa center and Takase's chaperon.
Those vans shuttle clients to the park, movies, or to volunteer sites, such as the one this week at the Capitol, Elliot said.
Elliott heard about the bill while filling up on Tuesday. She and Takase then traced the bill back to Majority Leader Marcus Oshiro and visited his office to learn more.
After a 15-minute meeting with the representative, "they invited us to come over to the hearing to give support for the gas station," Elliott said. Four staff and four clients of the Arc's Wahiawa center, all of whom are involved in the internship, plan to attend, she said. Elliott may even testify.
The experience will help Takase understand that "these are the kinds of things we do in this world; in this community this is how we give our support," Elliott said, as the pair worked side by side.
"Who does it affect?" Elliott asked Takase.
"It affects the Arc, so it affects me," Takase replied.
Mental retardation is an intellectual disability that begins before the age of 18 continues for a lifetime.
One measurement of mental retardation is an IQ of less than 70.
While this is Takase's first exposure to lawmaking, past interns have earned ongoing volunteer positions through the Arc, a nonprofit agency that advocates and provides services for people with mental retardation.
Rep. K. Mark Takai, whose Arc intern, Cheryl Derby, has become a regular volunteer in his office, said the experience is mutually beneficial.
Takai said, "I didn't know what to expect at first, but I'll tell you, I probably gained more from this experience than Cheryl has gained from us."
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