Don't base BOE votes on name recognition

THE ISSUE Voters can choose among candidates for the state school board on Nov. 7.

VOTERS will be drawn to the polls on Nov. 7 by races for Congress and state legislative seats, and many will feel obligated to vote for candidates for the state Board of Education. Before doing so, they should ask themselves whether their choices will be made on the basis of their knowledge of the issues or solely of recognition of the candidate's name. If it is the latter, they should take a pass.

Many voters choose to leave that part of the ballot blank. In September's primary election, 276,537 people went to the polls, but the top at-large vote-getter in the race for school board received fewer than 80,000 votes. Still, two of the top three finishers in the primary -- Donna Ikeda and Terrance Tom -- benefited from name recognition from their years in the Legislature.

Because the races for higher office garner most of the media coverage, little attention is paid to the school board elections, and that has a potential for disaster. During the mid-1990s, an unsteady member of a prominent Honolulu family who advertised himself as a former nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize was among the top primary finishers for the board. The Star- Bulletin sounded the alarm and the board was spared his victory in the general election.

In this year's primary, business consultant Paul Vierling, appointed last year by Gov. Linda Lingle to fill a vacancy on the board, said he was "stunned and disappointed and discouraged" at being eliminated from the runoff in the Windward District. Vierling, one of only two board members whose children attend Hawaii public schools, finished third behind John Penebacker and Kris DeRego.

Penebacker is a retired administrator of the library system, which is overseen by the school board, and is unquestionably qualified, regardless of name recognition stemming from his days as a University of Hawaii basketball star. DeRego's runner-up finish might have been based on name recognition from negative publicity about allegations of harassment and workplace theft.

Voters who want to study the candidates can check the Star-Bulletin's election guide Sunday.