Party delegates gather in Honolulu

By Lynda Arakawa
Advertiser Capitol Bureau

The Hawai'i Democratic Party must not only "expose the Republican Party for who and what they are," but start rebuilding and making changes itself, outgoing Democratic Party chairman Alex Santiago said yesterday.

"It's not enough for us to look and point fingers at them," he told delegates as Democrats kicked off their convention at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel. "It starts by looking in the mirror. ... It is time for us to rebuild this party and become once again respected, and have the integrity the people out there expect us to have.

The GOP's public relations campaign makes them appear like Democrats, Santiago said, but Republican policies, nationally and locally, are taking a direction most people don't agree with.

Hawai'i Democrats convene their biennial state convention this weekend, the first since they lost the governor's post in 2002 for the first time in 40 years.

Party members spoke of a renewed spirit in the party since then, partly because of "anti-Bush sentiment" and partly, some acknowledge because the 2002 governor's race was a wake-up call.

"There's a new energy in the party," said former Hawai'i Democratic Party Chairman Walter Heen. "Looking around at the delegation, there are a lot of new faces. A lot of old-timers have also come back, because they feel the necessity to help the party overcome the national administration's policies and also to maintain the large majorities we have in both the House and Senate. Very important considerations."

Elizabeth Lum of Manoa was among the first-time delegates. A Democrat "all my life," she decided to get involved in the convention after attending, also for the first time, the party's presidential preference poll in February.

"There's a lot of us that see some energy in the party, and I think it's a very upbeat mood going into the presidential (race), too," she said.

The highlights of this year's convention of about 1,000 delegates include an appearance by former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean, who will be the keynote speaker today.

The Democrats will select a new party chairman tomorrow, either their O'ahu county chairman Jimmy Toyama or radio personality Brickwood Galuteria. State convention delegates also will select delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Boston in July and work on a party platform.

Aside from the presidential race, both Democrats and Republicans are focusing on the Legislature, where all 51 House seats and half the Senate are up for election. Republican Gov. Linda Lingle has made it no secret she will help GOP candidates.

The GOP's main goal is to win majority control of the House, or at least enough seats to block a veto override. Republicans hold 15 seats in the House and five seats in the Senate; to block a veto override, they need three more in the House and four more in the Senate.

Reach Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 525-8070.