FOR Hawaiians, the millennium starts with great potential, not for
progress but for disaster. Driven by the logic of the U.S. Supreme Court
decision to uphold equal voting rights for all Americans, the forces
against business as usual extend to other areas.
If non-Hawaiians can vote in Office of Hawaiian Affairs elections,
then, by extension, non-Hawaiians can also be elected to OHA. If barring
non-Hawaiians from access to the OHA ballot is discrimination, will it
follow that barring non-Hawaiians from programs, schools, and other
services is also legally logical?
And most important, if non-Hawaiians, elected by non-Hawaiians, are on
the board, the question isn't if the board will change, but by how much.
So far, OHA trustees have reacted to the OHA debacle in exactly the
wrong way.
By first putting all of their political capital into fighting the Rice
vs. Cayetano lawsuit and piling everything up on the high moral ground,
saying their side was right and making no plans for a possible defeat,
they were left without an argument after the Supreme Court ruled against them.
They then followed their own illogical path by fighting Gov. Ben
Cayetano's interpretation that they couldn't legally continue to hold
office because their election was tainted.
So after failing to plan for a disaster, the trustees actually worsened
their position by fighting Cayetano, who ultimately was proven correct.
This week he appointed new trustees to replace the ones forced to
resign last week.
Those out-of-work trustees were left to howl at their own misjudgments
and mistakes. The most tragic example of how poorly OHA trustees played
their hand was the sister of defrocked trustee Mililani Trask standing
in front of Washington Place holding an obscene sign.
Cayetano earlier in the day had candidly explained why he didn't
reappoint Trask to the board. Recalling her slurs against Sen. Dan
Inouye, Cayetano said her remarks were racist and were only causing more controversy.
Trask responded with more name-calling, but the matter was over. Trask
resigned and was out. She lost.
A Cayetano victory now isn't in question, but it is fair to ask what
will be the result of all the OHA fumbles.
FIRST, OHA is likely to be run by a broader-based group of trustees. By
including all citizens in the election, more candidates will be able to
appeal to more voters.
The issues are likely to remain the same: to legitimately address the
overthrow of the Hawaiian nation, to compensate Hawaiians for past
wrongs, but, equally important, to actively insure that Hawaiians are
moving up and not down the social, education, economic and political scales.
As Cayetano has pointed out, the past OHA board has been too
dysfunctional to address the needs of Hawaiians.
Even after the election, OHA will still have to deal with Rice vs.
Cayetano aftershocks. One result could be that OHA simply has less of a
seat at the table and that the bigger decisions are made by the
community at large, Hawaiian and non-Hawaiian.
That's not to say that Hawaiians would be left out. It may be that the
true Hawaiian dialogue isn't conducted in the OHA boardroom but in the Legislature.
If Hawaiians elect enough Hawaiians to the Legislature, creating a true
Hawaiian voting bloc, then representation by Hawaiians, for Hawaiians
will carry the needed weight and responsibility to accomplish what OHA
has missed.