Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 13, Number 11, 1 November 1996 — Hawaiian fate should not rest in hands of appointed boards [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Hawaiian fate should not rest in hands of appointed boards

So a majority was in favor even if the turnout was not overwhelming. What the recent vote, or non-vote, showed .

us was that, onee again, appointed boards shouId not handle matters important to the Hawaiian people. i Let's remember this as we move towards sovereign nationhood. Most non-voters stayed away from the polls out of apathy or unawareness.

Blame here lies squarely with the Hawaiian Sovereignty Election Commis-

sion (HSEC). Although it had a budget of two million dollars for voter education, it never stressed the importance of the eleehon or

defined the issue. Why? Ultimately, the answer has to be laek of accountability on the part of HSEC appointees. Not surprisingly, Governor Cayetano now insists that HSEC proceed to the next step and draft eon-

vention guidelines. Worse yet, he is suggesting that the , state and the private sector help OHA fund it. Excuse me, but HSEC appointees are neither accountable to nor supported by the Hawaiian electorate. If the governor believes HSEC should proceed, then HSEC should be entirelv funded from the gov-

emoi^ administrative budget. Our numbers have spoken — only 22,294 yes votes. We do not trust yet another appointed board to make the mles for us. The governor should also study Judge David Ezra's opinion in Kakalia et al v. Cayetano et al. In an interesting footnote, Judge Ezra notes that "HSEC's 1995 Report to the Legislature calls for the preparation of a central convention," but that "HSEC has no authority to implement such actions without state funding orapproval." If HSEC does proceed with the convention, Judge Ezra notes, then the plaintiffs he ruled against might have some well-founded "concerns regarding the constitutionality of the state's involvement." This seems to give the state a reason to get out of the sovereignty business, but HSEC members and staff seem intent on sticking around anyway. Recently they incorporated as something called the Hawaiian Sovereignty Council,

i a rather misleading name for a private organi- j

?.ation since it recalls HSEC's legislative mandate. The new board is open to all

HSEC appointees. j Appointed boards are, of course, the time-honored machinery the 1 good old boys have used to control our ali'i trusts. They have worked ' so well that, at least for as long as I

have been at OHA, there has been talk of replacing elected representatives here with an appointed board. ;

The good old boys mouth on about in-fighting, but they have their eye on the prize: OHA's $212 to 220 million investment portfolio (mar-

ket value); operating budget of $15 million; annual revenue stream of some $15 million; $33 to $40 million in cash; and OHA's constitutional power to receive reparations from the state and federal govemments. These resources are why ,

the powers that be look to take over and privatize OHA. We Hawaiians should be suspicious of state and private offers to fund and otherwise assist a Hawaiian Convention. This is ' how devious outsiders to | our processes become insiders.

Remember the Great Māhele, when King Kamehameha III divided up our land to allow for private ownership? Sovereignty could be "deja vu all over again." We should also be skeptical of any proposal for a 1998 constitutional convention. Powerbrokers could try to modify the 1978 constitutional provision creating OHA with language requiring privatization and appointment of the board. Their agenda ] could even include folding the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands into OHA. OHA is the only Hawaiian trust that the ] Hawaiian people still control and where our : Hawaiian voices still count. If appointing HSEC members was a mistake, appointing OHA Trustees would be the sin of the century. Our public tmst could be the wealthiest Hawaiian trust yet and the good old boys know it. Don't buy into an appointed OHA Board. Don't give up your control of OHA. Retain accountability; demand it.

/\PPOINTED BOARDS ARE THE TIME-HONORED MACHINERY THE GOOD OLD BOYS HAVE USED TO CONTROL OUR ALl'l TRUSTS.

Alc* ha Trustee, At-Large