Patsy Mink 'prospects for recovery poor'

By Mike Gordon, Vicki Viotti and Lynda Arakawa
Advertiser Staff Writers

In an abrupt and somber new assessment of U.S. Rep. Patsy T. Mink's health, the Hawai'i Democratic Party yesterday said the 74-year-old congresswoman may not recover from viral pneumonia and may not be able to serve in Congress if she is reelected.

U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink helped dedicate the Duke Kahanamoku stamp last month, joining entertainer Danny Kaleikini and U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye. The Hawai'i Democratic Party says she may not recover from her pneumonia. Advertiser library photo ð Aug. 24, 2002

"U.S. Congresswoman Patsy T. Mink remains in intensive care where she is still very sick from pneumonia," said Andrew Winer, director of the Democratic Party Coordinated Campaign, which is overseeing all of Hawai'i's Democratic campaign efforts.

"Her condition has worsened today, and her prospects for recovery are poor."

The grim announcement about Mink's condition directly contradicts recent statements by the chairwoman of the state Demo-cratic Party and other elected officials who have said that Mink was improving and that they expected her to campaign and to take her place in Congress in January.

The statement came one day after the deadline for candidates to be able to withdraw their names from the November election ballot. Because Mink did not withdraw, her name will remain on the ballot, even if her condition worsens or she is unable to serve.

Winer said Mink will "not make promises to voters that she may not be able to keep" and if she was elected and unable to assume office with "her customary vigor," she would step aside. A special election would be necessary to fill her seat.

The announcement is the latest twist in an increasingly unusual political story that has raised sensitive questions about a candidate's privacy weighed against the public's right to information about their elected representatives, especially during election season. While elected officials and even Mink's opponents have treaded lightly around the issue of her health, questions and complaints about the secrecy surrounding her illness have grown louder and more blunt since last week's primary election.

State Rep. Bob McDermott, Mink's Republican challenger in the Nov. 5 general election, earlier this week called for Mink to resign. He said yesterday he was angry that the Democrats would continue her campaign.

"I think that's rather ghoulish and disgusting," he said by telephone from Washington, D.C. "I think it's terrible. She's a human being. Let's treat her with a little dignity. ... Stop the charades."

Mink has been hospitalized in the Straub Hospital & Clinic intensive care unit since Sept. 1 suffering from viral pneumonia brought on by chickenpox.

Until yesterday, nothing had been said about her official condition and hospital officials were ordered by the Mink family not to reveal her status. That order remained in effect last night.

All the Mink family has said — through a written statement released Sept. 12 — was that it takes time to recover from the kind of "hard-hitting" pneumonia she had contracted.

A few days later, in answering growing questions about Mink's condition, U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie said he had spoken with the family and was told Mink was "not in mortal danger." He said he expected her to be able to campaign and to serve in office.

Abercrombie, en route to Hawai'i yesterday, was unavailable for comment.

On Thursday, Democratic Party Chairwoman Lorraine Akiba said she had been told by Mink's campaign staff that the congresswoman is recuperating and wants to continue the campaign. "She wants to fulfill her candidacy," Akiba said.

Akiba said she had not talked to Mink, but had talked to her family and her chief of staff, Joan Manke.

"I have no reason to doubt what her representatives are communicating to me," Akiba said. "They (the family) would tell me if she was unable to fulfill her duty. I also believe Mrs. Mink would drop out if she felt she could not serve."

Manke said this week she had not seen Mink since her hospitalization and was unable to say if the congresswoman is able to talk or if she is conscious.

"She will be up and around; we just can't say when," Manke said. "We just have to be patient."

Mink easily won the Democratic nomination for her district seat in the primary election, defeating Steve Tataii.

Yesterday, Tataii filed an election protest with the Hawai'i Supreme Court, charging that the severity of Mink's illness was kept a secret from voters. He asked the court to order that he replace Mink on the general election ballot.

Winer said that under state law, any withdrawal from the ballot for reason of ill health has to be initiated by the candidate. He said he did not know whether anyone had been given power of attorney for Mink or whether that person could have intervened in the election process on her behalf.

Winer said Democrats will continue to work toward her re-election.

"We're going to continue to campaign on her behalf and we intend to get her elected," even if the likelihood that she will serve is not great, Winer said.

"If she's not re-elected, a Republican who stands for everything she's opposed to will be elected."

Russell Suzuki, a deputy attorney general who specializes in election matters, said Mink's name will remain on the ballot no matter what happens in the next few weeks.

"Even if she dies, her name is going to be on the ballot," he said. "If she wins and then dies or can't serve because of illness, there will be a special election."

Suzuki said state elections officials have told him that once that decision is made, they will need 120 days to prepare and hold the election.

The Republican Party had little to say about yesterday's announcement.

"All we're concerned about is the health and well-being of Mrs. Mink," said party chairman Micah Kane. "Our thoughts and prayers are with her and her family. That is all we want to say at this time."

Similar prayers for Mink's recovery came from some of the state's ranking Democrats.

"While the prognosis may not be favorable, we remain hopeful for her recovery," said U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka.

U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye said he would work for Mink's re-election and urged voters to "join me in voting for her to honor and thank her for her extraordinary service to the people of Hawai'i."

Gov. Ben Cayetano said Mink's commitment to the public was an inspiration to him. "Patsy is a fighter and I continue to hold great hope that she will be with us for years to come," Cayetano said.

Republicans and some Democrats grumbled privately about the appearance of a political "fix" — that the troubling prognosis was released after the primary and after the deadline for replacing Mink on the ticket. Some Democrats worried that the handling of the issue would further irritate voters and add to their cynicism in a year when Democrats are already on the defensive.

But Neal Milner, a University of Hawai'i political science professor, said he doesn't think voters will be angry.

"There's enough tragedy in the announcement and there's enough concern for Patsy Mink and there's enough strong support in this state so that people aren't going to get all that upset about it," he said. "They haven't really been all that upset before and to make a political issue out of it is a very delicate matter, which is probably not worth doing.

"Sure, it's obviously very difficult to campaign in favor of someone who is obviously not quite able to assume the seat. ... It's very awkward. But I think it's a legitimate thing to say that if you believe in the principles of the Democratic Party you would rather make the choice that way and then opt for a special election than to vote for someone you know you don't want."

Mink was the first woman to represent Hawai'i in Congress and has served in the U.S. House for nearly a quarter of a century.

She first served in the U.S. House in 1965-77, then served on the Honolulu City Council before returning to Congress in 1988. She is married to John Mink and they have a grown daughter, Gwendolyn.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.