honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, November 3, 2002

COMMENTARY
State has seen major changes in recent years

By John Griffin

Like many others, I have friends and relatives with sharply opposing positions on this year's race for governor.

A Waipahu homeowner playing both sides: Linda Lingle and Mazie Hirono both promise "change," but we've already seen major change in recent years — lots of change.

Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser

Depending on their view, Tuesday is going to be a watershed, a historic turning, a low point or a new beginning for Democrats and/or Republicans.

Yet I remain conflicted. While I realize a choice is needed, I might not make mine until I go to vote. And I will be thinking about "change."

Change is the candidates' mantra and the code- and-buzzword of the year. But it also strikes me how much change we have had in recent years, and how, in a sense, the candidates are behind the curve on what already has been happening.

Without assigning credit or blame to anybody — readers can do that — consider these developments:

• Reform of the corrupt old Bishop Estate, the state's largest private landowner, longtime major political power and provider of the ultimate high-three jobs for the Old Boy Network. On a more normal but meaningful level, consider the redevelopment and sale of the Ward Estate's lands in Kaka'ako.

• Dynamic change at the University of Hawai'i, arguably the state's single most important institution. Whatever else he may or may not do in the days ahead, President Evan Dobelle has gotten UH moving again in promising directions.

• The unfortunate death of longtime Democratic U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink is both a political opening and a reminder that our veteran delegation in Washington will not be there forever.

• At Honolulu Hale, the era of Mayor Jeremy Harris and his derailed gubernatorial juggernaut is nearing an end. Moreover, after eight years of shifting political games, a new City Council will be elected Tuesday.

Kara Godfrey, 13, a seventh-grader at Mililani Middle School, holds a sign encouraging adults to vote. This year's election does not take place against a background of no change at all — far from it. But voters must decide whether the change we've experienced is the right kind of change — or enough.

Advertiser library photo • Sept. 13, 2002

• Federal and state legal action has punished some political sinners in the Legislature and City Council. The continuing trial of United Public Workers union leader Gary Rodrigues may bring down a political insider some labeled "the 26th senator." Union power, long a key factor, is both divided and facing a critical test in this election.

• One way or another, the rule of Gov. Ben Cayetano is ending. Cayetano is controversial for some good reasons, but over the years he was often an outsider to the Old Boy establishment. And he has presided over rough economic times not of his making.

• The Legislature actually may have improved in the past few years, in part because more Republicans have been elected to the House, in part because dominant Democrats were scared into tackling problems. Call it a taste of a two-party system.

• After a decade of gloom reflecting national and Japanese troubles, Hawai'i's economy is showing signs of slow improvement. The Bank of Hawaii reflects some of the change. Still, getting to a better economic future remains the big challenge.

• Public education still has a long way to go in Hawai'i. But not only has the case been made for reform in the public's mind, some positive changes are under way or pending. Furthermore, those news stories about various schools doing good things should not be ignored.

• Nobody can argue that Hawaiian sovereignty is on track. It's partly a victim of 9/11 diversions, legal challenges and Hawaiian infighting. But at least the Office of Hawaiian Affairs has avoided more negative headlines, and I share the hope that public support for Hawaiian entitlements in these once-colonized islands is slowly growing.

• Speaking of change in the past two years, there's what I call "The Bush Factor." That's the present or potential impact on Hawai'i of a conservative and controversial federal administration with a bent for military solutions, restricted rights and crony capitalism. You can argue that a Democratic vote here makes a statement in opposition —or that a Republican vote might support the minority of GOP moderates in the national picture.

Bottom line, then, Hawai'i's election does not take place against a background of no change. Like it or not, much has been going on that needs to be considered.

I've written many times over the years that Hawai'i, which had a needed social revolution in the long-gone 1950s, needs another one, be it brought by liberal Republicans or reform Democrats.

So that's me going into the voting booth on Tuesday, wondering if change can mean revolution or just another shuffling of political power.

John Griffin, former editor of The Advertiser's editorial pages, is a frequent contributor.