By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Staff Writer
Noboru Yonamine came prepared for the worst.
Just a week after being arrested for drunken driving, Yonamine, a state representative, went in front of his constituents, ready to take his lumps.
No hiding, no excuses. Just Yonamine alone with friends, neighbors and voters, the ones he let down. A lot of other politicians would have gone into denial or hiding, waiting for the crisis to blow over or for voters to forget. Yonamine went public.
Right after his arrest, Yonamine said he was planning to resign at the end of this session. "I am determined that the resignation is the only right thing to do," he said.
First, though, Yonamine wanted to hold a neighborhood meeting so his constituents could have their say. Turns out, nothing they said was worse than the shame he already brought down on himself, his family and the three-day scolding he received from his wife.
One by one on Thursday night, the people in a sterile school room in Pearl City, which Yonamine has represented at the state Legislature since 1989, urged him not to resign.
They spoke of their grassroots work together, in the schools, in the parks, in the community. Yonamine had been there to help them, they said. Now, they were here to repay his support. There was no anger, just a certain sadness that comes when even good people make a mistake and have to pay for it in public. No one even said the words drunken driving, but they hung in the air anyway.
When the last voice in the crowd was heard, it was Yonamine’s turn. The room went so silent you could hear the ceiling fans whirring overhead.
"This is between you and I, my constituents," Yonamine said. "I’ve always believed that the community should hold elected officials to a higher standard and I didn’t live up to that. I feel like the trust was eroded by what I did."
Others in elected positions had fallen before. The crowd remembered a president named Bill who had done far worse in office and never considered resigning. Yonamine mentioned the "ethical and illegal" failings he had seen at the state Legislature in his time, "which cast doubt on the rest of us." He said he didn’t want to add to the public distrust of lawmakers.
Yonamine seemed almost sad that there were no protests, no harsh words for him. "I’d welcome them," he said.
There’s no denying the serious nature of the charge against him, and he’ll answer it in court. Yonamine screwed up big time and felt he needed to be chastised. Instead, all he found was comfort and support, including more than 200 calls from people urging him to stay on at the Legislature, which Yonamine now says he is leaning toward doing.
Good people sometimes make very bad mistakes. It takes an even better person to face the consequences head-on. We need more people like that at the Legislature, not fewer.
Mike Leidemann’s columns appear Thursdays and Saturdays in The Advertiser. He can be reached by phone (525-5460) or e-mail (mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com).
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