On Politics
BY RICHARD BORRECA
A House evenly
divided would be
good for all HawaiiWhat if the Legislature really had to work to get a majority? If the result of every vote was not a foregone conclusion, would we get a better government?
What would happen if every day, on every vote, the Democrats and Republicans had to stand and defend their positions on possible laws?
Would it make any difference that instead of shoddy sound bites, the politicians had to give real reasons for their bills?
Something like that is a possibility next year. While it is not a certainty, a quick scan of those who have filed for the state House elections shows that things look tight.
The figures reveal the intriguing possibility that the number of Republicans and Democrats could be evenly split at 25-25.
The math is fuzzy, but we are all guilty of speculation, especially when the results are more than 100 days away, so accept these calculations with a grain of salt.
STAR-BULLETIN / 1997
Hawaii lawmakers open the 1997 legislative session.
That said, you can make a case that the Republicans in the House will gain one or two seats, depending on whether you consider Rep. Lei Ahu Isa's district now to be Republican. If you look at some of the weak freshman Democrats and some of the strong GOP candidates, it is possible to extend the GOP numbers to 25.
And across the aisle, it is within the realm of possibility that the Democrats could suffer some major losses. The neighbor islands are especially vulnerable because Maui is becoming more and more a solid GOP block; Kauai has one House district that went solidly for Linda Lingle four years ago and could go Republican in the fall.
Add to that the Democrats' problems holding their base in portions of Hilo on the Big Island, and it is also possible to see the Democrats fielding only 25 candidates in the House next year.
The final vote, the 51st, could come from the new, sprawling Puna-Kau district. It could provide the biggest surprise of all: a Green.
Remember, Kau already has produced two of the 146 successfully elected Greens in the nation. First Keiko Bonk and then Julie Jacobson served on the Hawaii County Council as Greens.
Interestingly, Bonk wound up as chairwoman of the Council after the Democrats and Republicans split 4-4 on the Council. And yes, there is a Green House candidate this year: Walter J. Kelly. Could the Hawaii County Council be a forerunner for the state House?
If ever there was a time to drop the clichés and argue the merits of Hawaii's political troubles, it is now. And there is no better way to get that discussion if you have to earn your votes every day.
Richard Borreca writes on politics every Sunday in the Star-Bulletin.
He can be reached at 525-8630 or by e-mail at rborreca@starbulletin.com.
