New districts may aid Democrats
By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Capitol Bureau Chief
The struggle to control the state House in 2002 could tip in the Democrats' favor because of plans to redraw the House district boundaries, including a plan to create two new districts that likely will have strong Democratic leanings.
The state reapportionment commission has proposed that new House districts be created in Waipahu and 'Ewa Beach, two neighborhoods with sizable Filipino communities, plantation histories and relatively strong ties to the Democratic Party.
There are no incumbent legislators living in either of the proposed new districts, but at least two experienced Democrats plan to run for the proposed Waipahu seat. Other Democrats are studying the 'Ewa Beach seat.
Julie Duldulao, a former legislator who plans to run in the proposed Waipahu district, said Democratic candidates will definitely have an advantage in both Waipahu and 'Ewa Beach.
Duldulao represented a Waipahu district with boundaries similar to the proposed new district before the 1991 reapportionment. She said she was pleasantly surprised to learn from friends at the Legislature what the commission was planning for the area.
"The community leaders got really, really excited and said, 'Hey, Julie, I think (it) was meant for you,'" she said.
Wayne Minami, chairman of the reapportionment commission, said the areas were not deliberately drawn to give Democrats an advantage in the two new House districts with no incumbents. He said it's not clear what sort of political leanings the residents of the new districts will have.
The new district may, in fact, lean toward the Democratic Party, "but that wasn't a factor when we set up the districts. We just kept moving the lines out toward the west" to account for population shifts in growing suburban areas, Minami said.
The commission was also trying to keep neighborhoods intact, which is why it made sense to package Waipahu and 'Ewa Beach in their own House districts. The commission didn't want to carve up those communities, he said.
The reapportionment commission is appointed every 10 years to redraw the boundaries of the 51 House and 25 Senate districts and equalize the populations in each district, using numbers from the latest Census.
Population growth in Leeward and Central O'ahu over the past decade required the commission to eliminate two districts in Honolulu and Windward O'ahu, and create new districts in the Leeward and Central areas with no incumbents in them.
Earlier this year, Republicans were excited about that possibility because voters in newly developed Leeward areas such as Kapolei and Makakilo have turned out to vote independent or lean toward Republicans.
Micah Kane, executive director of the Hawai'i Republican Party, also predicted the GOP had an excellent shot at winning a new seat he expected would be created in Mililani.
Republican Party Chairwoman Linda Lingle has said winning a majority in the state House next year is a primary goal for the GOP. Republicans hold 19 seats, and need to hold what they have and win seven additional seats to gain a majority.
However, Kane said he doesn't see a problem with the commission's plan to instead create new House districts with no incumbents in Democrat-friendly Waipahu and 'Ewa Beach.
"We knew that there was going to be a shift, and there was a large population growth out there, so (that was) nothing we didn't expect," he said. "Of course, we see that as opportunity for us."
So does Alex Sonson, a Democrat who nearly won three primary election races against Rep. Roy Takumi, D-36th (Pearl City-Waipahu). The current district boundaries lump Takumi and Sonson in the same district, but the new district separates the two. Takumi would be in a district that includes Pearl City and parts of 'Aiea, and Sonson would be in a separate Waipahu district.
"He's happy, and so am I," said Sonson, who said he plans to run for the Waipahu seat.
Advertiser Staff Writer Lynda Arakawa contributed to this report.
