State House needs real reform
ONE KEY indicator of how the Legislature will conduct business is the way it selects its leaders and committee chairpeople. The Senate has gone in the right direction with its focus on openness. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the House of Representatives.
As the Star-Bulletin's Richard Borreca recently reported, "In the House, picking sides is part of game" ("On Politics" column, Dec. 10.), key community leaders, such as U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, recognized that House Democrats are factionalized and attempted to fix it. On the day after the general election, Hawaii Democratic Party Chairman Mike McCartney convened a meeting with Reps. Calvin Say, Kirk Caldwell, Marcus Oshiro and us. Inouye specifically asked that Rep. Dwight Takamine, chairman of the House Finance Committee, attend.
At the meeting, Inouye expressed his hope that the factions would resolve their differences and work together for the good of the state. He then asked Takamine to serve as a mediator and to bring the sides together to work out a compromise.
After Inouye and McCartney left the meeting, Say told the group that he intended to serve as speaker for the next eight years and would do whatever it took to retain that position. The following week, as he gathered votes, he did not respond to Takamine's requests to meet.
Say eventually garnered the 26 votes he needed to continue as speaker. But in doing so, he and the House leadership team denied that Inouye had requested a compromise, and then ousted Takamine and other House members who had not supported them. In doing so, the House lost an opportunity to provide real leadership and to bring about change in the way the House conducts business.
We must recognize that we were elected to serve the general public, and that it is not too late to bring about reform. By working with the Senate leadership, the House can implement a progressive agenda that will improve the Legislature and residents' quality of life. Here are a few things that we can do.
» Increase ethical standards. The House needs to prevent self-dealing, which results in bad legislation and policy decisions. We must set higher standards and learn to enforce them -- even against our colleagues.
» Approve immediate tax relief for working people. Programs such as the earned income tax credit can provide more than $20 million annual tax relief for thousands of working families in Hawaii. The federal government and 20 other states already have adopted the EITC. Hawaii should provide this and other tax relief to our residents.
» Pass an aggressive renewable energy agenda. In recent years, the House has watered down bold proposals to reduce our reliance on oil. We can no longer afford to do this. We must set a comprehensive plan to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and its effect on other facets of our economy. We cannot continue to prolong action if we are to become more self-sufficient.
This is just an example of what is possible. For six years, we served as part of Say's leadership team, but resigned in 2004 when we realized that Say was not willing to change. It is time to put aside the old way of doing things. We believe that our generation and those that follow deserve a sharp and aggressive Legislature that will work for the public interest. We hope the House is up to the task.
Rep. Scott K. Saiki (D-McCully, Moiilili) and Rep. Sylvia J. Luke (D-Pauoa, Nuuanu) previously served as majority leader and vice speaker, respectively, of the House of Representatives.