State Sen. Clayton Hee isn't known to back down from a fight.

Even when he finds himself on the losing side, Hee said he's no "shrinking violet" when it comes to taking a tough position on an issue.

Such was the case when the senator was one of only two to vote against a wiretap bill, which permits evidence gathered in federal wiretap investigations to be used in state cases, during the last legislative session. The bill passed and was signed into law by the governor, but Hee said that does not necessarily make it right.

Over the past 24 years in elected office, Hee said he is used to being on the unpopular side of issues.

"Being liked is secondary to taking positions which may not be popular," Hee said. "A federal district court judge has ruled that President Bush overstepped his authority in the federal wiretap legislation. The state wiretap legislation was patterned after the federal. So while it may not be a popular position, it seems to me at the end of the day it's the right position."

As Hee enters the last few weeks of the Democratic primary for the U.S. House seat in the 2nd Congressional District, he finds himself trying to differentiate himself from the other nine candidates for the seat being vacated by Congressman Ed Case.

Hee, who prefers cowboy boots over penny loafers and raises horses on his 'Ahuimanu ranch, also finds himself combating the maverick image he built during his controversial 12 years as an Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee. Those years were marked by constant power struggles against Haunani Apoliona, the current OHA chairwoman.

Most recently Hee has become known as the polarizing state senator from O'ahu's Windward side. While supporters say Hee is "tough" and "has backbone," Republican state Sen. Fred Hemmings calls him a "bully" who uses "retaliatory-type tactics" at the state Capitol.

When Hee, who represents Kane'ohe and Kahuku, introduces himself to voters, he tells them he is half-Chinese, half-Hawaiian and born to a local working-class family. It has become a part of his campaign strategy: Stress that he is "keiki o ka 'aina," has a grasp of Hawaiian issues and has absolute support for U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, who is also Hawaiian.

"As a school teacher my emphasis was on Hawaiian language and my 12 years at OHA gave me a good grounding on things Hawaiian. I think, frankly, that a congressman from Hawai'i would be better off ... if he had a grounding in things Hawaiian," he said.

In Congress, Hee said he hopes to clear up misunderstandings about the Akaka bill and what it would accomplish. He also said the "overly broad" bill would have a better chance if its focus were narrowed. He said the current Akaka bill is much different than one he knew as an OHA trustee.

"It took on a different life to include sovereignty, to include land claims, to include other issues, which then caused it, in my view, to lose its focus," he said.

Personal and political friend Congressman Neil Abercrombie said Hee knows the 2nd Congressional District well, having lived in it his entire life — from the windward side of O'ahu to the island of Moloka'i.

While Abercrombie, godfather to Hee's 19-year-old son, stops short of endorsing the former school teacher, he said Hee has the "powerful presence" it takes to be influential on Capitol Hill.

"He tends to, just by his presence and his grasp of the issues, take center stage," Abercrombie said. "He's not an indifferent politician. No one has ever accused Clayton of just going through the motions."

Much of Hee's reputation comes from his more than a decade as the colorful and often confrontational off and on leader of OHA.

"Clayton, in my view, was very political in how he did things. But he was very strong and a very good negotiator," said OHA trustee Rowena Akana.

She partially credits Hee, through his ability to navigate the agency through Native Hawaiian entitlement suits, for the exponential growth in OHA's coffers — $19 million to more than $400 million in less than five years. He also led OHA through a difficult transition following the Rice v. Cayetano decision, which allowed non-Hawaiians to vote for OHA trustees.

Akana said Hee's political reputation of being a straight shooter and tough likely came from his years at OHA.

"He was very political. For some people that was hard to handle," she said.

Hee said he's proud of his time at OHA, even if it has left him with an unfavorable image in the minds of some residents.

A recent Advertiser Hawai'i Poll showed that Hee has the largest unfavorables — 27 percent — of all 10 Democrats. Former Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono and state Sen. Ron Menor have the second-highest unfavorables at 24 percent.

But Hee shrugs it off.

"Mine is not much higher than Mazie Hirono, is it?" he said. "That's a byproduct of success. ... My experience has been, when people have (high) unfavorables it's because people are willing to take positions on issues."

Sherry Broder, Hee's long-time personal friend and former OHA attorney, said 2nd District constituents would have in Hee someone to fight for them.

"He has the courage to take a position and to fight for it. He is against the war in Iraq, has been very supportive of (Army 1st Lt. Ehren) Watada (the Hawai'i man who refused to deploy to Iraq to participate in a war that he thinks is illegal and immoral) and appeared at his press conferences. ... He's somebody who has backbone," she said.

Since returning to the state Senate in 2004, Hee has distinguished himself as chairman of the Higher Education Committee with tough questioning of the governor's Board of Regent nominees. He has butted heads with UH officials on such issues as autonomy, the university affiliated research center and the regents' decision to forgo a national presidential search to offer the job to David McClain.

As a former school teacher, Hee said education is likely the issue that concerns him the most. Hee wrote the legislation that created the B Plus Scholarship Program, which allows low-income students who earn a 3.0 grade-point average or better in high school to attend any of the 10 UH campuses under financial assistance.

"I was, for the longest time, trying to figure out how can we focus on poor kids, immigrant kids, Hawaiian kids, who are able to make the grade but are unable to afford education," said Hee, who credits his labor union parents with instilling in him his dedication to education.

Nationally, Hee said he would seek modifications to the No Child Left Behind Act. He said No Child is a "cookie cutter" approach to education and doesn't fit in every place. It is also underfunded, he said.

"We need to allow for exceptions, particularly with immigrants and non-English-speaking individuals, which Hawai'i has a lot of," he said.

Hee, who learned Hawaiian from his grandparents, was instrumental during his time at OHA in helping to develop bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in Hawaiian Language at UH-Hilo — the first degree programs for indigenous language in the country.

"Our economic engine is dependent on Hawaiian culture. The piko of culture is language. I understand that," Hee said. "That's what distinguishes me from the rest."

Reach Loren Moreno at lmoreno@honoluluadvertiser.com.