Legislators’ feud
erupts on last
day of session

Politicos focus on selling
passed bills to public,
including excise tax hike

A power struggle for control of the state Senate spilled into public with Republicans and Democrats exchanging insults and charges of racism yesterday as the 2005 Legislature closed for the year.

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Senators were debating a resolution that allows them to return in a special session to reorganize Senate leadership and oust Robert Bunda as president.

Senate Majority Leader Colleen Hanabusa said the Democrats are lacking direction and leadership, and that is why they are considering replacing Bunda.

"We are constantly being criticized by the minority (GOP) party, and we don't seem to have any formed response," said Hanabusa (D, Nanakuli-Kaneohe). "We don't expect everyone to march to the same drummer, but we should have some kind of basic path that we are all headed down."

In response, Bunda said he would now also consider reorganizing the Senate.

"I will be looking at it and talking to a lot of senators during this interim," said Bunda (D, Kaena-Pupukea-Wahiawa), Senate president for five years.

The resolution, opposed by Bunda and his supporters, passed in a 13-12 vote. The votes had been rounded up by Hanabusa and Senate Vice President Donna Kim.

Hanabusa had previously challenged Bunda for the presidency, and Kim had been a Bunda supporter who stopped supporting him this year. Bunda also lost the support of Sen. Shan Tsutsui, Democratic caucus leader.

Possible replacements for Bunda include Hanabusa, Sen. Russell Kokubun and Sen. Brian Taniguchi.

As the Senate finished its business for the year yesterday, Democrats and Republicans took a final swipe at each other.

Sen. Fred Hemmings, Republican leader, pointed to the Democrats' organizational problems.

"This is what the people of Hawaii don't want in politics; it is about double-dealing, back-door deals," he said.

Hemmings, who has said he supported Bunda's presidency, then looked at Sen. Clayton Hee, Democratic floor leader, and said: "This resolution is about power. It is about who the face of the Senate is going to be, and quite frankly the face I am looking at across the aisle is not the one I want to lead this honorable body."

Hemmings (R, Lanikai-Waimanalo) went on to say he did not want the Senate run "the way OHA (Office of Hawaiian Affairs) used to be run."

Hee, a former chairman of OHA who is fluent in Hawaiian, defended his performance at OHA and criticized Hemmings.

"Let there be no doubt, regardless of my brother from Punahou, he kanaka koko ole (a person without Hawaiian blood), my brother from Outrigger, he kanaka haole (a person not from Hawaii). Let us be clear that the last thing the kanaka need is an outsider telling the insider what's wrong with it," Hee said.

After the session, Hemmings said he thought Hee was trying to "divide along political or racial lines.

"We resent the racism," Hemmings said.

"It is a typical response of a non-Hawaiian who tells a Hawaiian what is wrong with him," said Hee. "He used me as an example of what is wrong with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

"His speech was totally inappropriate for the Senate floor. It was a personal attack, and then he used the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to further his indignation at me," Hee said.

The resolution also divided Republicans, with GOP members Sens. Paul Whalen and Gordon Trimble voting with those wanting to oust Bunda. During closed-door debate on the resolutions, Gov. Linda Lingle visited with the five GOP members and asked them to "rethink voting to change the leadership," according to Sen. Sam Slom.

After the session, the GOP caucus voted to strip Trimble of his position as GOP policy leader.