honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, April 15, 2001


Heen leaves behind a proud tradition

By Bob Dye
Kailua writer and historian

Walter Meheula Heen retires as head of the Democratic Party tomorrow. He is my age (72) but looks to be fit as a fiddle. He tucks in his aloha shirt as a conceit, I think. I am struck by how much he looks like his father, Ernest, whose picture hangs in Honolulu Hale, as does Walter's. Both photographs are of distinguished looking and thoughtful men.

We meet at Kirin, a Chinese restaurant on Beretania, for a lunch of "house special" noodles, shrimp and squid. I wonder, did this building house the Charley's Tavern we knew as UH students? Charley's was on the ewa side of the parking lot, he remembers. He is wrong. This is the very spot of so much youthful indiscretion, I later confirm.

Are you retiring as chairman of the party to run for mayor of Ho-nolulu? I ask.

He leans back; a momentary look of astonishment gives way to a broad smile.

"No," he says, shaking his head. "I'm just tired."

I ask this son and nephew of "first Democrats," heir of the Heen political dynasty, which Heen it was, his father Ernest or his uncle William, who blasted Bishop Estate trustees over their compensation. "That was my uncle," he says.

William Heen was unhappy over a bill to increase the compensation of Bishop Estate trustees. He thundered on the senate floor, "I suggest that if the three trustees, each receiving $450 or better a month from the trust, are having a hard time making ends meet, it may be because they are incompetent to earn their own living and quite possibly should never have been appointed."

Do you have any regrets over collaborating in writing the 1997 Broken Trust article, which sparked reform of the Bishop Estate?

"No." He looks thoughtful. "It was important," he says, "that Democrats be the ones to reform that powerful institution ... that a Democratic governor (Cayetano) took the lead, by assigning the attorney general to investigate the allegations of mismanagement." He sighs sadly. "I am unhappy that the AG brought criminal charges against some trustees. I don't think that was necessary. It hurt their families. But it was good that wrongful activities were exposed by the investigation."

But Walter Heen doesn't want to reminisce or rehash. He'd rather talk about politics today.

What's the biggest problem the Democratic Party faces?

"Success!" He explains that with so many incumbents there is small chance for even the movers and shakers to find a seat not already filled by a Democrat. He would like to see a return to multimember districts, even though that would help Republicans. He believes in a strong two-party system.

If Sens. Inouye or Akaka leave office for some reason, will former gov. John Waihee seek to fill the vacancy?

"Behind the scenes, John Waihee is very active in Democratic circles. Despite the baggage, some day he will be a candidate for the U.S. Senate, and he will win."

In the forseeable future, will the GOP take any of the top congressional posts?

"No." He makes it clear that he believes (though he doesn't use these exact words) Bill Quinn will remain the last Republican governor; Hiram Fong, the last GOP senator; and Pat Saiki, the last member of congress from that party.

What about governor? Is D.G. "Andy" Anderson still interested in running as a Democrat?

"He sent a paper that outlined his positions to George Ariyoshi for comment. I think he's still awaiting a response."

It appears that Jeremy Harris is unstoppable in his quest for governor, I opine.

"The Harris juggernaut is in high gear," he says. Heen is astounded by Harris' political drive, his single-mindedness in pursuit of a political objective. Heen was angered when Harris went directly to the Democratic National Committee with an offer to raise $100,000 for the Gore-Lieberman campaign, utterly disregarding the state party. "I sent a blistering letter of complaint," he says.

Some of Cayetano's political troops have gone to work for Harris. Is this part of Ben's agreement to help Harris? I ask.

"They weren't offered by Ben. They were grabbed away by Harris."

I tell him that a Harris operative told me that Mazie will get "an offer she can't refuse."

He wonders what that means.

I think the offer will be Harris' support of Mazie for mayor. First off, getting rid of a significant challenger saves him a bundle of campaign money in the primary.

Second, when she wins he has an indebted mayor in Honolulu Hale.

"I think Mazie is firmly committed to the race for governor," he says. But he chuckles at thoughts of such Machiavellian mischief.

He says that in the crowded field for lieutenant governor, high-profile Dems hoping to play second-fiddle are: OHA's Clayton Hee, state Sen. Ron Menor and council chairman Jon Yoshimura, and there are probably a large number of lesser-knowns who will be sending up trial baloons soon. He is especially interested in the race, Heen says, because he himself was asked to run for lieutenant governor on four occasions. If he had, he most likely would have been governor.

A fast-rising, bright star of the Democratic Party is state Sen. Coleen Hanabusa, he says: "Very impressive." If she runs against incumbent congresswoman Patsy Mink, he thinks, she stands a good chance of winning.

And if she does, she'll go on to win in the general. "She's a tough campaigner ... a younger mirror-image of Patsy."

Although John DeSoto, who is pau on the city council at the end of this term, has his eye fixed on the lieutenant governor's office, he may end up going for Hanabusa's vacated state senate seat, he guesses. Democrats will keep control of the state legislature, he says.

The new head of the Democratic Party will be Lorraine Akiba, an attorney who formerly headed the state department of labor. She has the backing of the same powerful Democrats who backed Walter Heen — among them former governors Ariyoshi and Waihee, and the congressional delegation.

By fits and starts, over the years since '54, Heen has seen the Democratic party become more centrist, and he believes that trend will continue.

But Heen emphasizes the need for Democrats to retain a "historical memory." He hopes Democrats will "not forget where we came from," and that the "older members will not be shunted aside."

This son and nephew of "first Democrats" has great aloha for the humble people who did the scut work to forge the modern Democratic Party into "the great political force for public good that it is."

Next week: Walter Heen's political roots.