By Lee Cataluna
Advertiser Columnist

I was all ready to write about the battle royal that seems to be taking shape before our eyes: on one side, Gov. Lingle and her band of Republican Party loyalists — and on the other, schools superintendent Pat Hamamoto and the Democratic lawmakers.

And then I crashed the meeting in Room 212.

Hamamoto's passionate speech to the Legislature, a speech the Republicans tried to keep from happening, sure sounded like a big "YOU GOT SERVED" to the governor.

Regular folks are still trying to process what they saw. There was Pat Hamamoto — and didn't we all have a teacher just like her — daring to put her job and her reputation on the line.

"Hold me accountable and expect results," she said.

Whoa. You don't often hear that kind of talk by someone who isn't in elected office, someone who could actually lose their job for poor performance.

"But first, you must give me the tools and the space to do the job," she said. "While we need the help of the Legislature and Gov. Lingle and her administration to empower the schools ... we also need to be able to do the job without interference... Don't tie our hands!"

That's it. It's on.

Lingle has not been gentle with others in education who dared to cross her (Virginia Lowell — gone. Evan Dobelle — quiet.) For Hamamoto to take Lingle on in the form of a direct-hit rebuttal was more than gutsy. It was inspired. You could almost hear the Democrats thinking, "Pat for gov! Pat for gov!"

But the very next day, in Room 212 of the Capitol, Hamamoto sat across the table from Karen Beaton and talked turkey.

Beaton is president of the teachers union in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. She was hired by the governor's office and the governor's CARE committee to come to Hawai'i for a week and tout the Edmonton model of a weighted student formula and local elected school boards.

Hamamoto asked specific, detailed questions. Beaton gave specific, detailed answers. There was no hostility. They were just teachers talking shop.

Also in attendance were Roy Takumi, chairman of the House committee on education; Tulsi Gabbard Tamayo, House higher education vice chairwoman; Norman Sakamoto, Senate education chairman — all Democrats, and Board of Education member Carol Gabbard.

OK, so it wasn't the big Lingle/Hamamoto ho'oponopono, but it was something.

Beaton is just two degrees of separation from the governor. Does this mean there won't be a political beef over elected local school boards? Doubtful. But maybe it won't be a smackdown take down.

Takumi, with a wink and a smile, offered up a quote to be printed in the paper.

"Policy should always rise above politics," he said.

Maybe there's a chance it will.

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com