Analysis
Hawai'i's political identities lose focus

This is the second of two parts. Part one ran yesterday.

By Lynda Arakawa
Advertiser Capitol Bureau

In the 1998 gubernatorial race, Gov. Ben Cayetano called on fellow Democrats to return to traditional party values and remember their plantation-era roots.

It may not be that simple for candidates in 2002.

Democrats and Republicans are sharing more space in the political center. They even stepped into each other's ideological territory last legislative session on issues such as public worker benefits and government reform.

In short, the "new" Democrat and the "new" Republican may look and sound an awful lot alike. The candidates for governor may have to work harder to stand out.

That means the 2002 race likely will focus on individual attributes and image rather than on party, political observers say.

Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris last month said he will run for governor as a Democrat. Democratic Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono and Hawai'i Republican Party chairwoman Linda Lingle, an unsuccessful candidate in 1998, also plan to run.

"I think this is really a very, very foggy, up in-the-air race for governor," said Gregory Gaydos, an associate professor of political science at Hawai'i Pacific University. "I see them all in the middle. I don't see them as having distinct ideological view points. And maybe that's because they sense with the voters it's a turnoff. So it will be interesting to see how they differentiate themselves."

A winning position

Moving toward the center is not just a local phenomenon but is also evident in national politics, he said.

"Most people just want to win, and the voters are in the middle," Gaydos said. "So they're hugging the middle because they want to win, and they begin to sound like tweedledee and tweedledum. That's true nationally, but I think that's true locally, too."

And that's when image — which candidate is nicer, more appealing, more visionary — kicks in.

University of Hawai'i political science professor Yas Kuroda said campaigning will make more of a difference than in the past.

"Image probably was good enough for the days of (former governor John) Burns, but I think you need some substance here," he said. "In economic difficulties, we become much more realistic. We count pennies rather than image."

In an effort to reform itself, the Democratic Party elected a new leader in Lorraine Akiba, and pitched her as a businesswoman.

Democratic lawmakers last session drafted and passed government "reform" legislation that appeared to distance the party from the unions. The Hawai'i Democrats appeared to have abandoned union sympathy and plantation day roots.

Some observers think that makes sense at a time when the voting public is changing.

"My students know nothing about labor battles," said University of Hawai'i political science professor Ira Rohter. "I have to have them read about it. It's all fuzzy, romantic histories."

At the same time, Hawai'i Republicans have stepped away from controversial right-wing issues like abortion and this year joined Democrats in supporting raises for public worker unions.

Even more surprising, about half of the Republicans in the state Legislature voted against a bill to cut the cost of public worker health benefits.

Hirono acknowledged that Democrats and Republicans have moved to the center on many issues.

"I think that we're all aware that the majority of the people don't identify particularly with either party," she said.

"Generally there's going to be more of a focus on issues and how we would bring about the kind of changes that we need to move our state. There's going to be that kind of focus, not so much on the parties."

But she also said: "For the Democrats, I think there will always be a call to our base of the working men and women, the articulation of equal opportunity support for education."

Harris said the voters will pay more attention to the candidates and their individual campaigns rather than on their party affiliations. He also said there already are distinct lines between the gubernatorial candidates and that voters will look beyond just image.

"I think one of the key things they're going to be evaluating is, even though these candidates agree on an issue, which one is best going to be able to get it accomplished," he said.

Lingle said voters won't have a problem distinguishing between the principles of the gubernatorial candidates.

New political environment

In the 1998 gubernatorial race, Lingle downplayed the fact that she was a Republican. She said that won't be the case in 2002.

"It is going to be different next time around," she said. "Now all of us, we're very proud. We're proud of what the party has done for the political system in Hawai'i."

Hawai'i Republican Party executive director Micah Kane also said the political environment has changed since 1998.

"When we went into the '98 election it was Linda against the world," he said. "I think we're at a point now where the old image of the Republicans is almost gone."

Kuroda said Lingle "did change the image of the Republican Party and showed it's possible for a Republican to win the governor's race, and possible for more Republicans to be elected — that's her contribution."

But many also say Lingle will be hurt by any unpopular actions of President George W. Bush, a Republican.

Still, it will be difficult for a Democratic candidate to vilify Republicans because so many people are represented by them. Nineteen House districts and three Senate districts elected Republicans, and Kaua'i and Big Island residents chose Republican mayors.

Being a Democrat is "not a shoe-in like it was in the past," Gaydos said. "It's not what it used to be, but ... I still think it's a plus. But you have to (present) yourself as a new Democrat or an independent, moderate-thinking Democrat."

Advertiser Capitol Bureau Chief Kevin Dayton contributed to this report.