The New Big-5 and Old-style Cronyism
Price of Paradise · Hawaii Public Radio · aired 1993-10-30
Guests: Chuck Freedman (Vice President of Corporate Relations, Hawaiian Electric Company); Jerry Burris (Editorial Page Editor, The Honolulu Advertiser)
Duration: 0:04:16

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: than to draw a bunch of people together and make something good happen, that that the message that may come out of all this is is just a lot easier to stop things than to make something happen. That, I think, is a is is a risky, a risky value for Hawaii.
[00:00:15] Speaker 2: Why don't we focus more on on a constructive approach? Why is it that so many groups are trying to knock something down?
[00:00:23] Speaker 1: Here's one, well, here's one specific reason why why they seem to work and it's my old hangup about single member districts. Uh, I really think that's been a tragedy for for the political process here because you have 76 people elected from fairly small districts with fairly narrow interests and their own preservation in mind and they can't branch out, and they can't move beyond the parochial because they have to think about their election over and over again.
[00:00:50] Speaker 1: And in the old days with three or four people running from a district, you could be number two or number three, you could afford to alienate a few people and look take a wider view, and that's gone. And that I think that's a And I think we're a society that seems to be more thrilled by conflict and controversy than the achievement of consensus. Um, it's understandable why, but where does where does that move us in the future, I think is is cause for, you know, real concern.
[00:01:17] Speaker 2: You each got about 30 seconds to tell me what you would change if you could change one thing, other than something that we've just talked about. Something in government or something here in Hawaii, something in the community. What's that one thing that you would change, Jerry?
[00:01:31] Speaker 1: In the political system, I go back to multi-member districts. I'd have a really tough campaign spending law that required disclosure well before the election. And uh, I think that would in in politics that would get us a long way.
[00:01:45] Speaker 2: What do you think, Chuck?
[00:01:47] Speaker 3: My greatest concern, I guess, is that individual initiative isn't going to be rewarded. And that includes initiative in government, where we're pushing so hard now to reform process that we've lost our eye on what the product is that we want. I would like to see elected officials get give clear measures of what they're going to do and how they're going to get there. I'd like to see citizens who get involved, uh not just get involved to kill something, but to make something happen.
[00:02:18] Speaker 3: I think we're really at kind of a watershed here in Hawaii, and maybe this election year. I'd like to see this election year become a positive new force for for democracy in the year 2000. Um, if it doesn't, I think we're headed really in a in a dangerous waters.
[00:02:34] Speaker 1: And I can say this, if if candidates will announce their clear objectives and announce how they want us to measure them, we'll publish it.
[00:02:41] Speaker 2: Sounds good. Thank you, Jerry. Thank you, Chuck. Our guests this week were Jerry Burris of the Honolulu Advertiser and Chuck Friedman, a vice president of Hawaiian Electric Company. Each contributed a chapter to the Price of Paradise volume two, which is available in your bookstores. This week's show was produced by Jill Center with technical assistance from Mark Wagner. We would like to hear your thoughts about what we've said or not said. Those comments can be sent to me and Care of Hawaii Public Radio, 738 Kaheka Street, Honolulu, Hawaii 96814. You've been listening to the Price of Paradise Radio show. I'm Randy Roth. Aloha.
[00:03:18] Speaker 4: This program is produced by the Consortium of Price of Paradise authors in cooperation with Hawaii Public Radio. The Price of Paradise is a best-selling book that has become a must read for every concerned citizen of Hawaii. A sequel, Price of Paradise volume two, has just arrived in Oahu bookstores. Please tune in next week when Randall Roth, the special guest, and one of his 65 co-authors from the two Price of Paradise books, will take on another question of importance to listeners in Hawaii.