Posted on: Thursday, February 14, 2002
OHA switches leaders again
By Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writer
Haunani Apoliona leap-frogged Clayton Hee to regain leadership of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs' board of trustees yesterday, and after the sometimes-heated meeting, offered her rival a handshake.
The gesture may be a good sign for a state agency that has been marred by infighting and endured seven leadership reorganizations since 1997 — two of them in the last 141 days.
"It was my attempt to reach out and say it's time to get on with it," said Apoliona, who lost the chairmanship of the nine-member panel to Hee last September and regained it by securing the votes of Linda Dela Cruz, Oswald Stender, Don Cataluna and Colette Machado. "I hope it will be different this time around.
"Clayton is very cognizant, as he prepares for a lieutenant governor run, that he can't be seen as a mean person. And he did indicate for the sake of trustee Cataluna that he plans to do the best job he can," Apoliona said.
Cataluna had tried unsuccessfully to broker a compromise that would have allowed Hee to remain as chairman until the end of the current legislative session. The plan called for Dela Cruz to replace Rowena Akana as vice chairwoman
"Changing leadership is not new to OHA, so no one should grieve," Hee said after shaking hands with Apoliona. "I'm a risk taker and I try to set the bar high.
"I'm fully aware after 20 years in office that the system tends to swallow you up unless you are willing to take risks. I've never been a shrinking violet, but when it comes to taking positions, at least everyone knows where I stand."
Dela Cruz, a Big Island homesteader who is the new vice chairwoman and head of the Program Management Committee, provided the swing vote for Apoliona.
The new leadership named Stender to chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee, Machado as head of the Legislative and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Cataluna as chairman of the Land Committee.
"I want everybody to work together, not only a few," Dela Cruz said of her decision to support Hee's ouster.
OHA was created by a 1978 amendment to the state constitution to help people of Hawaiian ancestry.
Its accomplishments during Hee's tenure included yesterday's announcement that the agency would make $100 million in Fannie Mae money available to all Hawaiians, regardless of blood quantity, to purchase homes anywhere in the state. Dela Cruz responded to news of the move: "I didn't know about all this until this morning. Why was it such a secret?"
The reorganization left Hee's allies — Akana, who did not vote yesterday, John Waihe'e IV and Charles Ota —without leadership roles on committees.
As chairwoman, Apoliona is expanding the committee structure and administration for more trustee participation and has promised to hold regularly scheduled meetings, starting March 7.
"I'm not a flashy person," Apoliona said. "I'm about running business that's clear and trying to do the best for the beneficiaries."
The change in leadership styles will create a better working climate, said Lela Hubbard, an OHA beneficiary who supported the reorganization. " "The new chair will be more accessible to the beneficiaries," Hubbard said.
Hee and Akana appeared to be keying in on Cataluna and Dela Cruz during the meeting, hoping to sway one of them to switch.
In their questioning of Apoliona, Hee and Akana pressed her to explain with specific examples what she meant by "five months of inactivity and instability in the current political leadership."
They also asked how she planned to "add clarity and function to OHA's administrative and programmatic body," as stated in a news release issued last week announcing the reorganization.
Knowing she had the votes to win going into the meeting, Apoliona responded with general comments, and refused to be drawn in to a heated debate.
"It was a labored meeting and they were playing to the media," Apoliona said. "I think we've all learned to work better with each other since the first time I was the chair."
Hee plans to serve out his two-year OHA term, which expires in December, although he said he would announce his candidacy for lieutenant governor in the next month or two. The resign-to-run law does not apply to him because his term expires this year, Hee said.
He predicted, meanwhile, that the Fannie Mae homeownership partnership with Bank of Hawaii and First Hawaiian Bank "is going to be the crown jewel of OHA."
"It's a mortgage program for all Hawaiians who are purchasing homes anywhere in the state who can qualify," Hee said. "Those that don't qualify will be given counseling and education to help them."
Hee said the proposed program, which will generate 500 loans, must be approved by the trustees.
