Posted on: Monday, May 12, 2003

Wai'anae board seeks efficiency

By Will Hoover
Advertiser Leeward O'ahu Writer

At first glance the Wai'anae Coast Neighborhood Board would seem to be suffering from the same low voter turnout and lack of candidates that has left half of O'ahu's neighborhood boards scrambling to find enough members to occupy the assigned seats.

With 25 members, the Wai'anae board has until now been the largest of the 32 neighborhood boards. But when the new board meets on June 3, its membership will have shrunk by 40 percent, to 15 members.

But the decrease has nothing to do with local apathy, insists Wai'anae resident and Hawaiian cultural activist William Aila.

"Our problem has been that too many people want to be on the board," he said.

Aila said it's not uncommon for standing-room-only crowds to go into "extra innings" at the monthly board meetings.

"The last meeting went until midnight," he said. The problem, according to Aila, has been that the board was so big it had become unwieldy.

"I think there was a consensus among the board members that it was (too large)," agreed board chairman Albert Silva. "So we voted for the change. It's easier to hold the meeting" with fewer members.

"From a Wai'anae perspective, we typically have not and do not have a problem with filling seats on the board," said former board chair Cynthia Rezentes.

Of the 15 newly elected members, only one — Susan Leonida — has not served before.

Why would Wai'anae's involvement level be greater than that of other communities?

Silva thinks it could be partly cultural.

Wai'anae — O'ahu's rural, remote and economically disadvantaged coastal community that has the state's largest population of people with Hawaiian blood — has long been close-knit.

Residents have a tradition of working together to solve their problems and hash out differences among themselves.

The neighborhood board meeting became a place where the average person could air his or her concerns and be heard, Silva said. That was important, he said, because residents have long felt neglected by the power structure.

"There's the concern that Wai'anae is always the last to receive," Silva said. "If there's anything left at the bottom of the barrel, that's what we get."

In the past there was a sense that it was necessary for Hawaiians to show aloha, meaning they were uncomfortable with making demands, Silva said. But that perception is changing, not only among Hawaiians, but everyone on the coast.

Rezentes agreed with Silva that folks in Wai'anae have felt ignored by decision-makers at the state Capitol.

The difference is that attitudes are changing. Fundamentally, she said, this new breed is less inclined to accept what's handed to them.

"In some ways what you're talking about is the transition of a generation," Rezentes said. "Before, people might have been a little more accepting of the idea that the government would take care of them without them having to participate.

"What you are seeing now is the phenomenon of people saying, 'I'm not going to take somebody's word for it anymore. We have got to get involved to make sure we get our fair share.' "

Rezentes said part of the attitude change stems from the involvement of residents in their late 30s, 40s and early 50s who have raised their children and have more time to devote to the community.

"They are young enough to fight, and they are willing to go do it," she said. "These are people who are saying, 'Enough is enough. It is time to get some things done for Wai'anae.' "

According to Rezentes, the neighborhood board is only one component in a larger communal network, a communications web that functions independently and through which residents stay connected.

Many on the board are involved with other groups as well, she explained. Likewise, folks who are not on the neighborhood board serve on committees with those who are.

William Aila, for instance, is not on the neighborhood board, but he is chairman of a local cultural council on which Rezentes also sits.

"So what happens is we end up talking about other issues we're both involved in," Rezentes said. "The natural exchange of information occurs."

The result is a higher percentage of motivated citizens who are tuned in to the needs of the community.

"There is no lack of interest," said Rezentes, who like Silva, will be returning to the board on June 3. "That's the most important message to get across."