Posted on: Thursday, July 18, 2002

State lottery on candidate's agenda

By Lynda Arakawa
Advertiser Capitol Bureau

Democratic gubernatorial candidate D.G. "Andy" Anderson is proposing a state lottery to help pay for public education.

Anderson, a businessman and former state senator, said that if elected governor he will propose creating a lottery that would raise an estimated $30 million to $40 million for public classrooms.

Lottery revenue would supplement, not replace, state money for education, Anderson said, who planned to formally announce his proposal today.

Asked how he would pitch the idea to people who oppose legalized gambling, Anderson said, "I believe our children are far more important than putting my big toe into the gambling question.

"I don't think we can ignore the children any longer," he said. "We are falling further and further behind nationally in spending per student. I am tired of reading about no supplies, no books, no pencils, no equipment, no teachers' aide."

Hawai'i spent an average of $6,409 per student each year, earning a B-minus rating in a January "Quality Counts" report by Education Week magazine. New Jersey ranked highest at more than $9,300 per student; the national average was $7,079.

Anderson said he also wants a constitutional amendment committing the state's per-student spending to a level that would place it in the top 30 percent of the national average.

He said 39 other states have government-operated lotteries, and "they haven't gone to hell in a basket."

State Rep. Ed Case, D-23rd (Manoa), who is also running for governor, said he opposes gambling of any form.

"The problem with education is not the overall availability of money," he said. "It is governance, and it is streamlining the system to deliver authorized and available monies into repair and maintenance, textbooks and other school resources."

Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono, also a Democratic candidate for governor, has said she opposes legalized gambling in any form.