OHA puts election off until next year
By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer
The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has ended a tumultuous 2003 with a new year's resolution: On Jan. 17, the 110th anniversary of the overthrow of the monarchy, OHA will begin enrolling Hawaiian voters and enlisting potential delegates to a constitutional convention that will serve as a blueprint for Hawaiian self-government.
OHA unveiled its nationhood plan in May; the original timetable had delegates to the convention, or 'aha, elected by last month. Under the plan, candidates would need to gather 100 signatures to run for a seat as a delegate.
However, OHA administrator Clyde Namu'o said some of the details — including district boundaries and how many delegates would represent each area — are still unclear.
OHA staff is recommending that the trustees establish a Hawaiian governance advisory council to iron out these wrinkles.
The revised timetable has a delegate election tentatively set for mid-summer, with the 'aha to follow in late summer. Namu'o said the hope is to finish before voters become caught up in the state's primary and general elections in the fall.
Namu'o said the assorted Hawaiian groups involved in the planning, including civic clubs and sovereignty organizations, are leaning toward starting off the Hawaiian voter enrollment simply: Voters would declare their Native Hawaiian lineage on the registration form and would not have to provide documentation.
But proof of ethnicity would be required later if legislation giving Hawaiians federal recognition passes: The so-called Akaka bill requires voters to document their Hawaiian lineage.
The launch of voter enrollment was announced yesterday as part of the "state of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs" address delivered by Haunani Apoliona, chairwoman of the OHA board of trustees. The address was given during a year-end service OHA held at Kawaiaha'o Church.
Apoliona summarized the chain of events over the past year that swirled around the issue of Hawaiian claims and rights, including the legal wrangling over OHA's revenues from Hawaiian lands ceded to the U.S. with annexation and the contentious courtroom debates over various Native Hawaiian entitlements.
In it, she extended a conciliatory hand to other Hawaiian organizations that, unlike OHA, favor self-government with more independence than federal recognition would allow. OHA has tried to involve other organizations more in planning and has supported activities of other groups she said.
"We know OHA's relationship with the Hawaiian community has, at times, been troublesome," she said. "We want today to mark a turning point in OHA's relationship with the Hawaiian community."
She also underscored that trustees see OHA as a transitional agency that will give way to whatever form of self-government Hawaiians devise.
"OHA trustees do support the passage of federal recognition," she added. "In the process of self-determination, the 'aha that is eventually convened to guide the Hawaiian nation can choose to continue down that road or any other road. It is not for nine trustees to decide."
Reach Vicki Viotti at vviotti@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8053.
