Ben Cayetano was the tough-guy governor who seemed to relish an argument. For two terms, he was the Democrat who said "no" time and again to spending requests.
First elected governor in 1994, in the middle of the longest economic slump in state history, Cayetano was not intimidated by the prospect of making people unhappy when he proposed public worker layoffs, slowing the growth in the public payroll and cutting taxes and limiting or reducing the cost of public worker pay.
Born in 1939, the man destined to become Hawai'i's first Filipino-American governor was raised by his father in a working class Kalihi neighborhood. Cayetano was a latchkey child whose poor grades barely got him out of high school, where he was regularly disciplined by teachers and counselors.
But after a series of menial jobs, Cayetano moved to California and went to college. In 1971, law degree in hand, he returned to the Islands. He was appointed to the Hawai'i Housing Authority by Gov. John Burns.
Cayetano served 12 years in the state Legislature before he was elected lieutenant governor alongside Gov. John D. Waihee III in 1986. During the Waihee years he helped create the state's A-Plus after-school programs, inspired by his own childhood difficulties.
In his first State of the State address as governor, Cayetano warned the public of a serious economic crisis: a $250 million budget shortfall. It was the first of many sternly worded lectures to the public.
"Make no mistake about it," Cayetano told the Legislature. "No governor, no Legislature since statehood has faced a financial crisis of the magnitude and severity that we face today."
Cayetano's legacy included accomplishments that underscored high-profile public clashes.
When he would note that he built 16 public schools, increased starting pay for teachers, extended the school year for students and invested in the new University of Hawai'i medical school, Cayetano could not escape the spring of 2001 when school teachers and professors both went on strike after collective bargaining with the state broke down.
And when he reminded people that he replaced the Bishop Estate trustees and changed the trust after his attorney general investigated, Cayetano could not forget the public uproar over the rejection of Margery Bronster for the job in 1999. The Senate floor vote was widely viewed as an attack on Cayetano.
In his last State of the State address, delivered months before the end of his term, Cayetano gave what many felt was his finest speech. It was vintage Cayetano, a summation of a public career: combative, proud, humble, emotional, optimistic.
And as he told lawmakers what the public needed, he was once again, brutally frank.
"We owe them the truth," Cayetano said. "We owe them the courage and wisdom to make wise decisions. We owe them hope. We owe them a better and greater Hawai'i."
