Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 11, Number 12, 1 November 1994 — CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES

• Denotes incumbent (D) Democrat (R) Republican (L) Libertarian (G) Green (B) Best Party •Daniel K. Akaka (D)

Age: 70 Born: Honolulu, Hawai'i Previous political experience: U.S. House, 197690. U.S. Senate, 1990-

present. Employment and community service experience: Department of Education; Director, Hawai'i Office of Eeonomie Opportunity; Governor's Special Assistant for Human Resources; Director, Progressive Neighborhoods Program. Why are you running for office: To continue with service to Hawai'i's people that is my life; to finish tasks I have not yet completed; to embark on new and exciting courses. Views on social/economic issues in Hawai'i: • Cost of living: Make housing more affordable (see below), lessen imported oil dependence through renewable energy development. • Housing: Continue working to raise HUD federal housing programs limits for Hawai'i to account for cost of living. Restore lands to/effectuate Hawaiian Home Lands trust, whieh would benefit both native Hawaiians and state as a whole. • Health: Exempt Hawai'i from ER1SA, federal law that has prevented major improvements in Hawai'i Prepaid Heahh Care Act. • Jobs: Federal initiatives to help diversify eeonomie base. Develop strategies through whieh Hawai'i ean gain from its unique geographic/political position in the Pacific Century. • Education: Government must ensure proper teacher/student resources, increase parental participation and provide a safe and conducive learning environment. What will you do for Hawaiians? Enacted into law: official apology for U.S. complicity in the 1893 overthrow and commitment to reconciliation between federal government and native Hawaiians; Kaho'olawe Conveyance Commission, whieh led to island's return to people of Hawai'i first-ever veteran's home loans for native Hawaiians on Hawaiian Home Lands; Hawaiian-owned businesses preference in awarding environmental restoration/remediation eontracts for Kaho'olawe; Hawai'i Tropical Forestry Recovery Act, to stem decline tropical forest ecosystems and promote

recovery; Park Service study on including Ala Kahakai in National Trails System. Continue pursuing Native Hawaiian reclassification under OMB Directive No. 15, guideline governing federal racial/ethnic data collection. Currently under "Asian or Pacific Islander" listing, native Hawaiians would gain significantly from placement in American Indians/Alaska Natives category. Seek passage of Hawaiian Home Lands Recovery Act, authorizing eompensation for lands taken by federal government during territorial period and lost use of such lands. How should Hawaiian sovereignty and self-determination be addressed? Since the sovereignty issue itself stems from usurpation of Native Hawaiian rights of self-determination, its parameters must be defined and adopted by Native Hawaiians themselves. Maria Hustace (R) No response was received from candidate Richard (Dick) RowIand (L)

Age: 64 Born: Bartelsville, Oklahoma Previous political experience: Served in Pentagon 4 years working

with muhiple Federal

Agencies. Ran for U.S. Senate in 1992. Employment and eommunity service experienee: Retired from U.S. army as Colonel. Since then been life insurance agent 20 years. Served on Nu'uanu Neighborhood Board 1989-90. Why running for office: I am volunteering to serve one term and one term only as a person who will abide strictly by principle and natural law to return government as mueh as possible to eaeh individual. Views on social/economie issues in Hawai'i: • Cost of living: The major problem is too mueh restriction by government and perception on the part of developers, contractors, etc. that they must purchase access to politicians. I would limit

politician's authority and increase eaeh individual's sovereignty in deciding what he or she wanted to do in pursuit of happiness. • Housing: • Health: This is a personal issue. No government ean provide heahh. Eaeh individual needs to address his or her heahh. The main reason for high heahh care costs in Hawai'i resides in too mueh government interference. I would try to reduce that. • Jobs: Jobs eome from prosperity. Prosperity comes from production. Production comes from free sovereign individuals doing creative things that others find useful. No job ean eome from government unless production (money) is taken from others to pay for h. • Education: What a shame is our government education system. Just like the Soviet Union's was. Why? Because it is a giant socialist scheme where excellence is stomped on and mediocrity is heralded. I would allow 100 percent tax credit for tuition for students to private school no matter who paid — relative, friend, prospective employer. I would do away with the jail that is called school. If a child and parent don't want to attend school, let them suffer the consequences. But don't have serious kids in a school suffer the consequence of having a sorry unhappy troublemaker in their class. What will you do for Hawaiians? Hawaiians have been treated like serfs - somehow government has gotten the idea that they are less capable. I will always do all I ean to assure that eaeh Hawaiian

is allowed to seek his own version of happiness without interference from government or any other organization. Hawaiians, Haoles, Filipinos, Koreans, Blacks, Japanese, Chinese, etc. etc. should all be equally sovereign. No one should get less (or more) of a ehanee to succeed and pursue personal happiness. How shou!d Hawaiian sovereignty and se!f-determination be addressed? Eaeh Hawaiian should be offered the opportunity to be a self-governor. Problem with most Hawaiian "sovereignty" organizations is that they are not interested in eaeh Hawaiian having selfgovernment. They are instead interested in gaining control over Hawaiian land and the Hawaiian people so that they ean use that for their own purposes. They want Hawaiians to trade serfdom under the State of Hawai'i for serfdom under a Hawaiian sovereign and they want to be that sovereign. I say, give the 'āina to eaeh Hawaiian and stand aside. Let eaeh do as he will as long as they do no injury to others. Look out prosperity, here they eome! U.S. House lst. Congressional Dist. •Neil Abercrombie (D)

Age: 56 Born: New York State Previous political experience: State House 197479; State Senate 1978-

CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES

86: Honolulu City Council 1988-91; U.S. Congress 1986-87. 1991-current. (20) Employment/community service experienee: instructor, Leeward Community College; assistant to the superintendent, Department of Education; Salvation Army Aleohol Treatment Facility; Hawai'i Epilepsy Society: Hawai'i Special 01ympics; Nu'uanu YMCA. (27)

Why running for office: I want to continue working for social justice, equal opportunity for all, and prosperity for Hawai'i. (17) Views on social/economic issues in Hawai'i — Cost of living: The main factor here is the shortage of affordable housing. I would like to see a strengthening of federal low-moder-ate ineome programs to address this problem. Housing: Strengthen federal programs that ease the affordable housing shortage. Also,with thousands of military families competing with civilians in the housing market, construction of on-base housing as part of the Defense budget addresses the overall Droblem.

Health: Single-payer (Canadian) heahh insurance would be best. At the very least, we need federal heahh insurance legislation similar to what we have in Hawai'i. Jobs: With the visitor industry our principal job source, we need stronger federal efforts īn support of tourism. I will also continue working to bring more federal dollars to Hawai'i. Education: The recently passed Elementary and Secondary Education Act contains strong support for education programs in Hawai i. I will eoniinue to support legislation to strengthen our schools.

What will you do for Hawaiians: Continue my efforts to secure federal acknowledgement of trust responsibility. Continue working on behalf of Hawaiian claims to ceded lands. Continue my support for Hawaiian health and education programs. How should Hawaiian sovereignty and self-determination be addressed? The Hawaiian community is moving towards its own consensus definition of these terms. The role of non-Hawaiians is not to impose our own definitions, but to support the Hawaiian community in its quest for sovereignty and self-determination as Hawaiians themselves define the terms. I pledge to do this by educating my congressional eolleagues on the history and current circumstances of the Hawaiian people and making the most powerful case I ean on their behalf. (76)

Alexandra Kaan (B) No response was received from candidate. Orson Swindle (R)

Age: 57 Born: Thomasville, Georgia Previous politieal experience: I have never

sought polkieal office Employment/ community service experienee: Assistant Secretary of Commerce 1 985- 1 989: Executive Director KCAA Preschools 1992; Executive Director of United We Stand America 1992; Associate Director of Empower America 1993; Career USMC Officer 1959-1979. Why running for office: I care about the people of Hawai'i and America. The Democrat leadership has betrayed the loyalty and trust of our people. We ean do better. Together we ean make a difference and improve our lives.

Views on social/economic issues in Hawai'i: • Cost of living: Cut taxes and the burden of government, create a business environment that promotes entrepreneurship and private sector jobs. • Housing: Promote private ownership of public housing, ffee up more lands, provide mortgage credit in the private sector, get government out of housing and land control business. • Health: Free market. competitive, quality and flexible system is needed. Also need medical savings accounts. • Jobs: Private sector development — cut taxes, cut regulations, cut government instrusion into our lives and the marketplaee, and cut government spending. • Education: Competition, vouchers, strong qualifications for teachers, loeal control. cut education department overhead. emphasize students and performance. discipline and full year schooling.

What will vou do for Hawaiians? I will honor past commitments. conduct fair hearings, support self-determination model drafted by Hawaiians and provide responsive actions to concems of the people. A fellow Georgian James Blount wrote about the wrongs committed to the Hawaiian people. Let this Georgian assist in righting those wrongs. How shouid Hawaiian sovereignty and self-determination be addressed? Hawaiian sovereignty and self-determina-tion must be addressed by the Hawaiian people first and foremost. Hawaiians have culture, language and history that entitle Hawaiians self-determination under intemational law. The concept of Hawaiian sovereignty is to be decided by the different sovereignty groups working to improve the conditions of the Hawaiian people. Roger Lee Taylor (L) No response was received from candidate

2nd Congressional Dist. (Rural O'ahu, neighbor islands) Larry Bartley (L) Age: 40 Born: Cincinnati, Ohio Previous political experience: chair, Kailua neighborhood board, vice-chair, Libertarian Party of Hawai'i, author of the first neighborhood board pro-sovereignty resolution whieh called for return of ceded and homelands.

|Employment/ lcommunity ser|vice experience: llicensed profeslsional engineer, lowner of small iKailua business. |Why running lfor office: To Jprovide the

moral leadership currently missing in Congress. To push Congress to its knees to in respect of the people it serves. To retum to the people sovereignty over their own lives and property.

Views on social/economic issues in Hawai'i — • Cost of living: Drastically reduce federal spending and lower federal taxes • Housing: Push for native Hawaiian sovereignty. You living on your own land will relieve the housing market for everyone. • HeaUh: Establish tax-free medical savings accounts to allow medical consumers to make their own heakh care choices; make all medical expenses 100 percent deductible for everyone; eliminate mandated benefits and the certificate of need program; replace the Food and Dmg Administration with ULtype certification; and privatize Medicare and Medicaid. • Jobs: Create opportunity by reducing federal spending and lowering taxes. • Education: Promote tax credits, vouchers and school ehoiee.

What will you do for Hawaiians? Offer my U.S. House office as home base in Washington for sovereignty lobbyists. Respond to the will of native Hawaiians in shaping sovereignty legislation. Work for immediate retum of federal and state ceded Iand.

How should Hawaiian sovereignty and self-determination be addressed? Congress will ultimately determine the degree of sovereignty. I favor a nation within a nation model with retumed all ceded and homelands and reparations for loss of ineome from the trust, stolen, traded and misappropriated land. After achieving this degree of sovereignty, land and wealth; a greater degree of sovereignty may be achievable later. The quest for native Hawaiian sovereignty must be taken to the 433 representatives and 98 senators not from this state, for they will make the decision. Their constituents must be educated on the history of Hawai'i, the illegal overthrow, the complicity of the U.S., and the plight of native Hawaiians in your own land. This Representative in Washington. willing to talk real land retum and reparations, will make the difference. The current four will never work for its retum because they are so closely tied to those benefitting from the stolen land.

Robert H. (Lopaka) Garner(R) No response was received from candidate •Patsy Takemoto Mink (D) Age: 66 Born: Pā'ia, Maui

Previous political experience: 16 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, 4 years Honolulu City Council, 5 years in Legislature. Employment and community service experience:

Teaching positions at University of Hawai'i Why running for office: To continue my work for the people of Hawai'i.

Views on social/economic issues in Hawai'i — In the Congress I worked hard to enact the national heakh care reform bill because it would have the effect of decreasing the cost of heakh care and help to stabilize the Medicare and Medicaid programs from further cutbacks due to increasing costs. 1 also worked hard to help the various community health centers whieh provide essential primary care services in underserved areas.As a member of the Education committee in the U.S. House of Representatives I helped to retain the Native Hawaiian Education program funding as well as the Native Hawaiian health and higher education programs. The Congress will have passed the reauthorization of the ElementarySecondary Education Act for another five years whieh will provide eaeh year more than $80 million of federal funds for Hawai'i. This bill was reponed out of my Education committee in the House. I am the author of a bill entitled Job Start America whieh if passed will provide job training and job counseling to persons who are on welfare. I also support other bills in Congress whieh provide greater funding for job training.

What will you do for Hawaiians? As a member of Congress, I will continue to support all special funding programs to help native Hawaiians obtain quality education, needed health services, special housing allotments, higher education assistance and retum of all ceded lands as soon as possible. I will continue to work with the Clinton administration to urge their acceptance of the principle of trust responsibility for the native Hawaiian people of the state of Hawai'i.

How should Hawaiian sovereignty/selfdetermination be addressed? The issue of Hawaiian sovereignty should be left to the native Hawaiian people to first decide what route they wish to take. This is a matter of self-determination. Thus the native Hawaiians themselves must decide the course they want to follow. This means that extensive educational efforts must be pursued to make sure that all parties are fully informed and apprised of the options available to choose from.