Rookie Legislators
Price of Paradise · Hawaii Public Radio · aired 1995-05-07
Guests: Scott Saiki (State Representative (freshman legislator)); Ed Case (State Representative (freshman legislator)); Quentin Kawananakoa (State Representative (freshman legislator)); Colleen Meyer (State Representative (freshman legislator))
Duration: 1:08:47

[00:00:00] Randall Roth: This is a Price of Paradise Radio Show. We are broadcasting live each Sunday morning on KHPR 88.1 FM, Honolulu, and KKUA 90.7 FM, Wailuku. That's been the case for the last year, but as of today, our program will run from 8:00 till 9:00 instead of 7:30 to 8:30. One little change. As usual, the entire program will be rebroadcast this evening at 8:00 on KIFO, that's 1380 AM.
[00:00:29] Randall Roth: That's pretty easy to remember, here us live from 8:00 to 9:00 Sunday mornings or rebroadcast from 8:00 to 9:00 Sunday evenings. Saint Paul Sunday morning will follow our live Sunday morning broadcast, as usual, but beginning today will begin at 9:00, rather than the usual 8:30. Well, this morning we've got four freshman legislators, legislators. We've got people who have gone through their first legislative session with us, hooked up by phone because they're over on Maui attending the Republican Convention, are Quentin Kawananakoa and Colleen Meyer.
[00:01:03] Randall Roth: Here in the studio, we have Ed Case and Scott Saiki. I want to give you a little bit of background on each of these legislators and then we'll get into our program. Quentin Kawananakoa is a Republican from the 26th district. He's a graduate of the UH Law School, his undergraduate degree is in business administration from USC, and he's a 1979 Punahou graduate. He was a clerk to Justice Frank Padgett in the Hawaii Supreme Court and he's currently practicing law with the Case law firm.
[00:01:33] Randall Roth: Ed Case is a graduate of Hastings Law School and Williams College, went to high school at Hawaii Preparatory Academy. He's from the Big Island and currently is representing the 23rd district, which is Manoa, University, and Wilder. He's a Democrat. He worked for three years for Senator Spark Matsunaga in Washington D.C. and clerked for Chief Justice Richardson here in the Hawaii Supreme Court. Currently, he's practicing law with the Carlsmith firm.
[00:02:01] Randall Roth: Scott Saiki, also a Democrat, represents the 20th district, which is McCully, Moiliili, and Kapahulu. He's a graduate of the UH Law School, his undergraduate degree is in political science from the University of Hawaii, and he went to high school at Hawaii Baptist Academy. Currently, he's practicing law with the Bickerton Law Firm. Colleen Meyer is a Republican from the 46th district, which is Kahalu. She is a graduate of the College of San Mateo in California and a Punahou graduate.
[00:02:30] Randall Roth: Colleen is a real estate broker and has held many, many jobs, but I note that she's not a lawyer. We'll ask her in a bit whether that's good or whether she feels a little bit lonely, being the only non-lawyer in this austere group. Well, I would welcome each one individually, but I've got so many of them, two in the studio and two out on the line, that I'm instead just going to ask my two guests here in the studio, Ed Case and Scott Saiki, whether I use the right term. Freshman legislators. Is that an acceptable term, Scott?
[00:03:04] Scott Saiki: Uh, I guess it is, um, but there are other terms that were used this past session.
[00:03:08] Randall Roth: What, what? Well, what can I repeat that won't have us unplugged? What do we call you folks?
[00:03:17] Scott Saiki: Oh, I don't know. Rookies, um, Young Turks, Middle Turks, some kind of Turks, mitch flies maybe, something? Or Young Turks.
[00:03:26] Randall Roth: Well, we've got Colleen Meyer, I think you're on the line over on Maui where you're attending the Republican Convention. Did you hear all of that?
[00:03:35] Colleen Meyer: Yes, I did. And, of course, being over 50, I can't call myself a young or a Turk, but I would call us maybe an independent class, which I think is a good thing.
[00:03:45] Randall Roth: An independent class. All right. Quentin Kawananakoa, are you on the line? Do we have Quentin yet? Well, Quentin is attending a meeting and he's going to get on the line in just a few minutes. Well, let's get to the more serious task at hand. I'm real curious whether each of you feels as though the last session that just ended, which was your first, whether it was a satisfying experience. As we sit here today, are you proud to be a member of this state legislature? Scott?
[00:04:13] Scott Saiki: I think for the most part I am proud to be a part of the legislature. I think the experience was, I guess somewhat mixed. It was exciting to be a part of the policy-making process.
[00:04:28] Randall Roth: Okay, Ed.
[00:04:30] Ed Case: Yeah, I am proud. I mean, I I am proud to represent my district, especially. I think it's, you know, it's a very tough time to be a legislator, obviously. You're coming in at a very rough time. You got a lot of kind of mid-course changes that are going on in terms of the development of our state. It's a challenging time. Lots of times people ask me, are you having fun down there? And I, the honest answer is, no, it's not fun, but everyday is a challenge and there's, you know, a fair mix of disappointments and every once in a while you feel like you've really contributed in some way [unintelligible — audio glitch] betterment of things.
[00:04:57] Randall Roth: Okay. Colleen, what do you think? Was it a satisfying experience?
[00:05:01] Colleen Meyer: I felt privileged to participate. I was oftentimes disappointed, often frustrated. Overall, um, it was a very positive experience.
[00:05:13] Randall Roth: Colleen, what do you think our listeners least understand about the way the legislature works?
[00:05:20] Colleen Meyer: I don't think the average person is aware of the frenetic pace, with so much business being done in the 60 day period. Um, it it's just it's crazy.
[00:05:32] Randall Roth: Crazy in that it ought to be changed or crazy in that it pretty much has to be that way, but it's very, very difficult to do well?
[00:05:40] Colleen Meyer: I would question if the business is being handled as well as it should because of the short-term and the the tremendous number of bills that are introduced, I feel that it should be changed.
[00:05:51] Randall Roth: Okay. What do you think about that, Ed?
[00:05:53] Ed Case: Yeah, I I think Colleen has a real good point. You we have made a choice to have a part-time legislature and I believe strongly that we should have a part-time legislature. I believe strongly that it's that that the model that we have, the model by which people go back into their own lives and back into their communities and their professions and then meet for, you know, a couple of months every year is a very, very solid one. I'd hate to see a full-time legislature. On the other hand, we do have a very high pace. And I think that's that is definitely one thing that people don't understand. I wish more people would come down and wander the halls and and kind of see what's going on. I think they'd see that.
[00:06:24] Randall Roth: Okay. Scott, what do you think? Was there anything that that surprised you about the way the legislature worked or didn't work this session?
[00:06:33] Scott Saiki: Well, I also, you know, I also agree that the the process should be part-time, otherwise it becomes too incestuous. Um, I think my biggest disappointment was that sometimes policy decisions are are made in a vacuum where we're not looking at the whole picture and that maybe due in part to, um, to the rush nature of the process.
[00:06:52] Randall Roth: That almost sounded like, um, a person who would support term limits for legislators. Would you support that?
[00:06:59] Scott Saiki: Well, I actually signed the bill that would impose term limits on the state level.
[00:07:03] Randall Roth: Uh, but that's not something that, uh, that was done or or got very far in the legislature. Ed?
[00:07:10] Ed Case: No, it didn't. I think there's a real fear within the legislature right now. I introduced the bill for term limits and, you know, frankly, one of the things that has happened to me during the course of this legislature is I believe even more strongly than I did before that term limits are a good idea. I think you have to kind of mix it up down there. You know, [unintelligible — audio glitch] let it go on for too long with the same people and the same perspectives, you're really going to lose some of that development of of the law. So I, you know, I'm all for it. Now, the fact of the matter is that it's going to be difficult to get that through just because so many people have a vested interest in staying in office. I think that that's something that they want to do.
[00:07:41] Randall Roth: Right. Colleen, one of the the reasons I guess some people support term limits is to to get a lot of turnover in the legislature. And this session, uh, was the first for 18 members of the house. Uh, that's pretty high turnover. Uh, do you think the the 18 new members, whether we call them freshman, young Turks, or something else, do you feel that the 18 of you had an impact on what went on in the house?
[00:08:05] Colleen Meyer: Yes, I do. Uh, there was a lot of lively debate on the floor. I know Jean Ward felt there was much more debate than there had been in the previous two years. Uh, new people bring new ideas and and a freshness that uh that the legislature needs. And I believe strongly in term limits. I too uh introduced a bill on term limits and uh not one bill on term limits was heard in committee, and I think that was wrong.
[00:08:31] Randall Roth: Ed, when I was talking to you before the show, you mentioned that that you thought there were some litmus tests this session. And and one of them had to do with term limits. Could you tell me what you mean by litmus test and give us an example, a different example?
[00:08:45] Ed Case: Sure. Excuse me. I I think what's going on is that [unintelligible — audio glitch] in a period in which we have uh a real uh credibility gap with the public. Um, we've got a bunch of tough issues coming up, very hard and fast at us. Some of them have already been discussed uh at length during this session. We've got, you know, budget problems, we've got the question of of services uh versus redu- reduction in taxes. We've got a bunch of tough problems and we've got to have the credibility of the public. When I talk about litmus test issues, I talk about issues or developments in which the in which we say to the public, look, we're in this with you and and you should you should get on board with us rather than view us in a cynical fashion. And so when I'm talking about litmus tests, I'm saying, what are the what are the issues where we can say to the public, look, we really want to do the right thing? One one one issue, for example, a very clear one was the pay raise. Uh sometimes the legislature is judged by what it doesn't do. That's a perfect example. I mean, the pay raise was was in front of us, we turned it down. I thought that was a litmus test issue right there.
[00:09:44] Randall Roth: Okay. Scott, do you have were there any particular votes that that struck you as being really important and that maybe uh separated folks into into two groups that look at the world differently?
[00:09:54] Scott Saiki: I think uh for me there are two issues. One was the flag burning resolution. Um, the second was the tax credit bill. Um, with the first I think um, the flag burning resolution just posed a very significant um civil liberties issue for us. And that resolution was unfortunately passed by both the house and senate.
[00:10:12] Randall Roth: Okay. And and for our listeners, can you explain just real briefly uh what that resolution said?
[00:10:17] Scott Saiki: That resolution urged the congressional or Hawaii congressional delegation to support a constitutional amendment at the federal level to prohibit flag desecration.
[00:10:26] Randall Roth: And I guess you felt that the people who supported that uh perhaps were doing so because the public seems to be supporting it, whereas you thought the other side was uh the better position?
[00:10:38] Scott Saiki: Right. I think that's this is the kind of issue where you need to provide leadership and not necessarily just flow with what the public mood appears to be.
[00:10:45] Randall Roth: I see. Uh, Quentin Kawananakoa, have you joined us?
[00:10:48] Quentin Kawananakoa: Yes, sir.
[00:10:48] Randall Roth: Good morning. How's the convention going over there in 10 words or less?
[00:10:52] Quentin Kawananakoa: Yeah, very well. I apologize for being late but I was at a Republican round table of elected officials and uh we had a good little session and uh got here as soon as I could.
[00:11:03] Randall Roth: Okay, great. Well what we're talking about right now are what what Ed Case called uh litmus test. Was there any one particular vote in the legislature this last session that you thought was a particularly important one or one that that seemed to really separate folks out into camps where you could see how they were approaching things differently?
[00:11:23] Quentin Kawananakoa: Well, I think the most clear uh vote that seemed to separate various uh I guess perhaps party would be on the budget. And for me, I think that was the the highlight of the session to get up and to have the opportunity to speak against the budget that we passed for the state of Hawaii, which increases government spending by 12%. Uh, for me that was that was difficult and yet at the same time it was necessary because there are good programs within the budget. There are needed programs and services in the budget but overall, when you take it as a whole, I couldn't uh vote in favor of it and I think uh everyone from our side of the aisle didn't want to get partisan especially right off in the beginning. But we all voted against the budget at the house and
[00:12:11] Randall Roth: Let me let me ask Scott Saiki if if he feels that it it was kind of a a partisan sort of thing that the Democrats supported the budget that went through and and the Republicans didn't or or if there was a different way of explaining who was supporting it and who wasn't.
[00:12:27] Scott Saiki: Well I guess the final vote was partisan um, I think that the Democrats for the most part understood that the budget process this year was somewhat chaotic because the the figures changed on a day-to-day basis. Um, our finance committee faced some really big challenges in putting the budget together.
[00:12:46] Randall Roth: Okay. Colleen, what do you think about uh the budget? Quentin was saying that uh he was rather disappointed with uh with how it ended up. Uh do you have any thoughts on that?
[00:12:56] Colleen Meyer: Well, of course I voted against the budget. I had hoped that some of the uh the majority party members would. Uh just the fact that in this uh tight economic time the budget was increased uh by 12%. Uh there seemed to be the only way to balance it was by way of the tax credits and I didn't think enough was done to try to downsize the size of government.
[00:13:20] Randall Roth: Okay. Um and I want to come back. Scott Saiki also mentioned something about the tax credits, but for the sake of uh any listener that may have joined us late, this is the Price of Paradise Radio Show. Uh I'm Randy Roth, and I'm talking to four first-time legislators. Quentin Kawananakoa and Colleen Meyer are Republicans and they're hooked up by phone. They're on Maui right now attending the State Republican Party Convention and here in the studio with me are two Democrats, Ed Case and Scott Saiki. Any listener who would like to ask a question or make a brief comment can do so by calling us at 955-8821 and neighbor islanders are always invited to call collect. The number again is 955-8821.
[00:14:05] Randall Roth: Well, Scott, uh Colleen was just mentioning the tax credits. Could you give our listeners a little bit of background in terms of of what credits we're talking about and share your thoughts on uh the elimination or reduction of these various credits?
[00:14:18] Scott Saiki: The tax credit bill eliminated our medical tax credit and also reduced in half the tax credit for for uh food and medicine for the loing um food and housing for the low income population. Uh significant portion of Democrats um voted against the tax credit bill.
[00:14:39] Randall Roth: Okay, but it it went through?
[00:14:41] Scott Saiki: It was passed.
[00:14:42] Randall Roth: Uh, why why was it passed, Ed Case, if a significant number of Democrats voted against it and I get the feeling from Colleen that that the Republicans voted against it, how did that get through?
[00:14:53] Ed Case: Well, I think I think the uh the majority of the people that voted for that bill saw it in the much bigger picture of a budget which as as Scott is referred to as was a very very difficult budget to put together. Quentin's put has put out the number of 12% increase in spending but actually what we have going on is a 7% increase in the first year of the biennium and about a 2% increase in the second. So the so what the point I'm trying to make here is that you could have we could have focused on any one of probably 100 to 150 very very tough issues that were involved in trying to get us to a budget that that truly balanced. The tax credits were enacted [unintelligible — audio glitch] mid to late 80s when we were flush with cash. And what I I think the House Finance committee had to do was to say look, if we're going to maintain programs to the people that are affected by by by by by these particular credits, what we have to do is to is to balance the budget, maintain those programs and try and target them a little bit better. So so the my approach to to the tax credits was to try and fit it into a much much bigger picture than simply focusing on on those credits and it was a very very tough decision. I think one thing you asked earlier, which is what you know, what are some of your surprises. One of mine is some of your votes are just real tough. You know, you only get the vote yes or no, but the range of feelings that you have on any one vote just range from you're absolutely certain you're doing the right thing all the way down to you could have gone either way, but you had to make a choice.
[00:16:14] Randall Roth: But the the two Democrats here in the studio with me, let me ask very briefly, would you agree that the elimination of these credits can can accurately be called a tax increase?
[00:16:25] Ed Case: Yeah, I'm not I'm not going to play semantics on it. Sure. It it it increased taxes because it resulted in somebody having to pay more taxes. So yes.
[00:16:32] Randall Roth: Scott?
[00:16:32] Scott Saiki: Yes, it is.
[00:16:33] Randall Roth: Okay, Colleen, what what's your position on this? Uh, taxes were increased, but as Ed is saying, sometimes that has to be done in order to uh uh provide the services that the voters are asking for. Where do you come down on this?
[00:16:48] Colleen Meyer: Well, the problem I had with it is is the people that make the least amount of money, the working poor are going to be hit the hardest. So, if we needed the money, I would have felt more comfortable if it was uh if it was a tax increase that that hit everybody equally. Mhm. Now,
[00:17:05] Randall Roth: Quentin was saying he would have preferred that we not increase taxes, that we simply cut spending. Did I just hear you suggest that maybe a tax increase wasn't inappropriate?
[00:17:16] Colleen Meyer: No, no. I mean, I guess uh I I would prefer that we had uh by cutting uh cutting the size of government. I didn't see that being done. There were no innovative types of things passed this year. Uh we we have a government that's 40% larger than it was 8 years ago and uh there were some cuts by attrition of about 1,200 positions but uh there was nothing else done to try to cut the size and I think everybody wants to put that off and it has to be addressed.
[00:17:48] Randall Roth: Okay. And Quentin, that's what you were saying earlier, right?
[00:17:50] Quentin Kawananakoa: Exactly. I didn't want to get into a statistic matchup about how much the budget has increased, 7%, 2% in each by in each year, but my calculation Let's Let's round it off to 10%. What do you think? Well, no, I believe it's 12% over the next two years is what the government spending, but this budget is 12% larger than the last budget. And that's the, we have to keep the numbers simple so we can all talk. But my point is with those kind of numbers, this kind of $1.2 billion increase in our budget, if we had simply decreased government the growth of spending down by 1 or 2%, that would cover all the the reduction in tax credits, all the money we had to pull out of the economy, pull out of our constituent's pockets, out of the mouths of children, to use these kind of political uh heartstrings. But to take this money from the most needy at this time, when they're hardest hit without their jobs, without their uh you know, positions in the economy with the downturn. Quentin Quentin is starting to sound like a political speech and as a former student of mine, I I feel like I need to uh to move on. No, thank thanks Quentin. I don't mean to interrupt you, but I'm real interested to hear uh what Ed
[00:19:00] Randall Roth: The Andor Scott have to say about one of the things that you're commenting on which is we really haven't cut government at all. Reading the newspaper it sounds as though the legislature has been making difficult choices deciding what to cut. And the point I think you're making is whether you say 7 and 2 or you say 12 or whatever that government has grown significantly as a result of this last legislature. Ed what what's your response to Quentin's comment?
[00:19:26] Ed Case: Well, I'm not going to defend [unintelligible — audio glitch] growth in the size and expense of government. I think that's one of the, if not the most important issue in our government today and and certainly one that I'm focusing on in the interim and we'll focus on in the next uh session. The point I'm trying to make is that it's not as simple as as simply rounding it off to a bi-annia. The [unintelligible — audio glitch] budget is a highly complex thing and and I think one of the problems that we have uh in terms and and you talked earlier about what is the public most misunderstand about the legislature, the the budget's a good example. Um it's it's not as easy as simply uh rounding rounding things off and lumping things together and calling it an increase. I mean if for example, if you take a look at the general fund uh very briefly, un uh unfunded mandates accounted for a probably a $430 I think it was million dollar increase in the next bi-annia. Those are those are amounts we had to pay. Yet we only increase the the general fund uh appropriations by 250. So the difference what did in fact result in in a decrease in terms of the of the amount of money coming out of the general fund. So, I think the ship is being slowed down. Now from my point of view, it's not being slowed down fast enough, but I think we do have to give credit that that people are highly uh concerned about this in the legislature and that there are consequences in stopping it too fast.
[00:20:45] Randall Roth: Okay. Scott, you pretty much agree. I see you nodding approval. Where do you see the legislature having made tough choices? Where where do you see significant cuts if if people who haven't been following all of this want to know, well, well who did have to tighten their belt? Uh was it human services? Was it the university? Was it public education? Uh where were were sacrifices uh felt as a result of this budget?
[00:21:12] Scott Saiki: Well, I don't think the Department of Education was um cut this year, I think um it did pretty well of all the departments. Um just want to note that in terms of Human Services um welfare recipients will be experiencing cutbacks. So we the Department of Human Services will be um revising eligibility requirements for persons on general assistance and particularly those who are disabled.
[00:21:38] Randall Roth: Okay. Colleen, do you have any thoughts on what you've been listening to?
[00:21:42] Colleen Meyer: Um no.
[00:21:45] Randall Roth: Well hey, that's fair.
[00:21:46] Colleen Meyer: I can't add anything at the moment.
[00:21:48] Randall Roth: Okay. You know, something else uh that was written up in the in the newspapers quite a bit that the legislature didn't do was address this so-called high three. And it's kind of complicated, but a lot of folks in the public anyway, are under the impression that that somehow or another, this calculation of pension benefits of former legislators is somehow manipulated or manipulable and that it's something that requires attention and yet the bill didn't get out of the house committee, didn't get out of the Senate committee. And and Ed, I think you've commented that you thought that this was kind of a litmus test of sorts, could you explain that?
[00:22:28] Ed Case: Well, in essence what the high three is is a is a pension program that that actually uh applies to all of all of government workers and what what basically happens is that your pension benefits are calculated on the basis of your your highest three years of compensation. Now, for most government workers, it doesn't make that big a difference because what happens is they start out at [unintelligible — audio glitch] certain level and then they move up in terms of a lockstep and by the time they get to the end, there really hasn't been that much of a range. What happens with legislators is that we get paid uh an amount and then if we if any of us jump into another state job, we usually take a very, very big jump of over 100% or or and don't look at me because I'm not planning on going on to another job, but it it's true for other people. Now, that's compounded with a very high rate of of calculation on on the percentage of your of your highest three years that you get, and it also uh vest after 10 years, as opposed to other government workers. So it's it's a very lucrative package. Um, I think we have to end it because I think it tends to it tends to kind of compromise the independence of the legislature. When you get towards the end of your career, you kind of start to think, if you have no other options, about going on to another state job in order to boost your pension, you start maybe playing to the executive branch. Now, why did it not advance? I think I think it's a little bit the same as term limits. I think legislators tend to kind of uh, you know, want it, and so they they they they want to retain it. It's tough for them to give up. Some of them have grown up in kind of a different era um and it's it's not being heard. I think that's one of the the problems is is the committee system and getting things heard is one of one of the problems with the legislature that maybe we can talk about later on, but that's that's the essence of it.
[00:24:08] Randall Roth: Let's talk about the the committee system, but our producer is reminding me that I should remind all of you that this is the Price of Paradise Radio show. I'm Randy Roth and I'm here with four first time legislators, four people who just concluded their first session as members of the House of Representatives. We have Republicans Quentin Cavana, Nakoa, and Colleen Meyer and Democrats Ed Case and Scott Saiki. Anyone who would like to ask a question or make a brief comment can do so by calling us at 955-8821. We've been talking about their impressions having gone through the session, but we also are going to be interested in their positions on on various issues that were raised during this last session. Scott, uh any thoughts on how the committee system is working and I I should preface this by saying as a member of the public, I've got the impression and maybe it's a miss impression, but I've got the impression that something's wrong, that somehow one individual can bottle something up to the frustration of other members of the of the house. Am I right, wrong or somewhere in between?
[00:25:12] Scott Saiki: Under the House rules, the chair has the discretion to um to to hear or to not hear a a bill for the most part. Um, I think that uh for that the most power is held by three committees: the Judiciary Committee, the Finance Committee, and the Consumer Protection Committee. Um I think um if anything was abusive um I think it was probably the conference committee process. Uh because that occurs in the last two weeks of session and it's during the conference committees that uh you see all kinds of uh different language surfacing um It almost doesn't matter what happened before then because anything's possible. Right. And you'd like to change that if you could. Well, I think what you need is is uh first of all, good chairs um and good leadership in the house. Um Because it doesn't matter what, you know, I think you could change the rules, you could make the rules very technical. Leadership can always get around written rules.
[00:26:14] Randall Roth: I would ask you if we've got good leadership right now but I'm I'm assuming you wouldn't answer that anyway or you would answer it very diplomatically. Am I correct in my assumption?
[00:26:24] Scott Saiki: I'd be very diplomatic.
[00:26:26] Randall Roth: Let's let's get uh Quentin and Colleen's thought Well now wait a minute, maybe I shouldn't give up so quickly. Uh is that something that um do you have some thoughts on leadership in in uh the legislature?
[00:26:39] Scott Saiki: Well, I think this, you know, relates back to the young Turks uh label. I think that it's very clear that um leadership will soon become a generational issue. Um there's a whole new generation of people at the legislature and it's time for for a certain group to enjoy their high three. Make make room for the young Turks. Is that what you're saying? That that sounds good enough.
[00:26:59] Randall Roth: Colleen, what do you think of that?
[00:27:01] Colleen Meyer: Well, uh I want to get back to what Ed brought up about the um um the chairmanship's and the fact that it's so closed. I think I think that with the new group of people we have in there, we have an opportunity to look at changing some of the rules. Uh the chairman have tremendous power. Um, none of the uh term limit bills were heard because the chairman of the judiciary was just flat out said he he wouldn't hear them. And uh that, I don't think is right. I think there should be some mechanism where we could get the signatures of so many and force certain bills to be heard in committee.
[00:27:37] Randall Roth: Okay. Let me get Quentin's thoughts on this and then we've got several callers on the line. Quentin, what do you think about this?
[00:27:42] Quentin Kawananakoa: Well, I think the example of the uh high three and having a chair decide that uh it wasn't important enough to be heard because there were bigger issues and the public didn't want to have us address this issue was was a breach of our trust as public officials because I think it was high in the minds of all of my constituents why the high three is allowed to continue and without even having it come to a committee hearing. Another example that that scares me about the legislature is how bills can change in the committee from what they were originally drafted and we've all had a chance to uh to brief and to understand. And an example I'd like to give was the $600 million settlement for the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. Uh when that came through the finance committee I guess at 11:00 at night after all the testimony had been given, uh a new idea was floated at the last hour sort of speak and that was to attach the general excise tax, an increase in our general excise tax to fund the the settlement. Now, there was no public hearing on this. There was no opportunity for the public to come forward and say this is not a good idea or this is a great idea. Uh it ended up uh being ramrodded through the house and uh I feel that that was uh again, a way that that our conf or our committee committees [unintelligible — audio glitch] faulting and that we allow this sort of change behind the scenes or at the last minute when the public's already given their input, no one knows it's coming.
[00:29:11] Randall Roth: Okay. And I know Ed has has something to add to that, but we've got several people who have been waiting for some time. So I'm going to take a few calls and then we'll come back in in just a bit. Uh let's go to let's see uh Marsha in Hawaii Kai. Good morning Marsha.
[00:29:23] Speaker 2: Good morning.
[00:29:25] Randall Roth: What can we do for you?
[00:29:26] Speaker 2: Well, I have a comment and a question. My comment is that since all of the Democrats ran on a platform and in the platform, it said that all bills would be brought up win-lose a draw that they would not be bottled up by the committee chairs. And um, I am talking now specifically about um the one uh what's his name Aki? Refusing, absolutely refusing to hear the um bill on the Hawaii Hawaii Sovereignty Elections uh committee uh even though people had asked him he said he would do it, and it's the direct violation of the platform that all the Democrats ran on, I want to know how you feel about Okay. not only him but all of these people being able to bottle this stuff up when Okay. Marsha stay on stay on the line, let's get Ed case's response to that question.
[00:30:24] Ed Case: Um well, I think I've already said excuse me that I that I think the committee uh system needs to be reformed so you know, I don't know Senator Aki uh well. Uh I think he's been a good legislator overall. The um the bill actually did get out of his committee and and it is passed and it's and it looks like it's going to be law. So that particular example there was a there was a mechanism for doing uh you know, going over that. But um you know, again, um [unintelligible — audio glitch] Democratic Party platform of of hearing bills, getting bills heard is exactly the right move and we simply have to keep chipping away at effectuating that in within the house.
[00:30:58] Randall Roth: That goes back to Scott's comment about new leadership. Okay. Uh Marsha you had another question?
[00:31:04] Speaker 2: Well no that's that is pretty much it, but it was just so widespread in violation of
[00:34:28] Ed Case: um a hot issue. Uh it these are new legislators and this is a new issue, not a new issue historically, but a new issue uh coming before the legislature more and more, which is uh the issue of Hawaiian sovereignty. I'm sure various bills and and questions to do with Hawaiian sovereignty are going to pop up more and more as uh the years go on and these folks are going to have to face up to them. So, I'd like to hear what they feel uh the legislature, what what angle they feel the legislature should take on the issue of Hawaiian Sovereignty and I'd like to know whether since we have both Democrats and Republicans on our panel this morning if they can tell us if their parties as a whole have views. I'm Okay, well that's a that's a great I particularly interested in hearing Quentin Kwana and Aqua because a lot of folks say he's a coming he's a coming light in the in the in this issue.
[00:35:18] Randall Roth: It's a it's a good question. Uh let's start with Quentin, since you mentioned him. Quentin, let's uh hear what you have to say very quickly and I know you could talk uh for a long time on this one, but very quickly where do you stand personally on on sovereignty and and does the Republican party have a position?
[00:35:34] Quentin Kawananakoa: You know, we mentioned a shining light, I think it's a shining light for the entire state of Hawaii to help promote and support the issue of sovereignty self-determination for Hawaiians. I think it's an opportunity that we can't pass up. Does the Republican Party agree with you, Quentin? Yes. Okay. Uh Colleen, do you have any any spec Colleen is she with us now? Colleen are you there? Yes, uh-huh. Do you have any specific thoughts in, you know, personally on sovereignty, Quentin said Republican Party is supporting it. Uh where are you?
[00:36:05] Colleen Meyer: Well, I feel the same way. I feel that uh the the state should help support uh all efforts to to educate everybody on the issues as they as they uh emerge. Uh I think in the past, the state has probably been too paternalistic kind of running the show. We have the Hawaiian community. We had Kalahui come out. They they resent the state getting involved, but truth is that you need a certain amount of funding to carry things through and I think to that degree, the state should should participate, should give the help that they need, but not dictate.
[00:36:46] Randall Roth: Okay. Ed Case, um number one, where do you and the Democratic Party stand on this but number two, uh when somebody says I'm for sovereignty or I'm in support of of the sovereignty movement, um do folks in the legislature uh have the same thing in mind, do you think when when they say that?
[00:37:05] Ed Case: Well, first the the Democratic Party does support moving towards sovereignty. Sovereignty takes a million different forms and and we are going to have to debate all of those forms in the next um I I hope the next few years. I know some people talk about a longer time frame but I think it's an an issue that we need to resolve. My own goal in my mind is to resolve it by the year 2000 so we kind of move into the next uh millennia with a with a form of sovereignty. Essentially what it means to me, and I think it probably means this to most legislators, is is some form [unintelligible — audio glitch] self-determination, some form [unintelligible — audio glitch] self-decision making um with with an adequate land and funding base. That's really kind of the model that I think I'm looking at in my own mind. We've certainly made some progress along those lines with the native Hawaiian settlement.
[00:37:50] Randall Roth: Scott, do you have any thoughts on this one?
[00:37:52] Scott Saiki: Well, I think the legislature has addressed um three very significant issues. One was the land issue and that was addressed by the settlement uh bill.
[00:38:00] Quentin Kawananakoa: One is um the second is compensation. I think that was somewhat addressed last year. Um the third issue is the plebiscite question and and that will allow the Native Hawaiian community to decide for itself whether it wants to proceed with um with the sovereignty issue.
[00:38:15] Randall Roth: Okay. Quentin, I know as I listened off for it, it sounds as though there's there's total agreement. Do you feel there is a difference between how the Republican Party is approaching sovereignty and how the Democratic Party is approaching sovereignty, or at this point in time, is there pretty much agreement to move forward?
[00:38:32] Quentin Kawananakoa: You know, I think this is an area where most of us all agree that the Hawaiians need to have an opportunity to decide for themselves well how they want to manage assets and the Hawaiian assets and land and resources in the future. So I think there is agreement there.
[00:38:47] Randall Roth: Okay, great. Steve?
[00:38:49] Speaker 9: Thank you for your call. Um Can I ask for a quick a very quick reaction to [unintelligible — audio glitch] phrase? Go for it. This was uh a very well-known Hawaiian activist, Haunani-Kay Trask recently at University of Hawaii a rally got up and said, and she, I think, was speaking on behalf of a number of her supporters, she says, "I am not an American." Um sovereignty is going to be is going to be uh decided inside the context of American law, but there are a lot of people who would like to separate. What reaction do our legislators have to that statement on behalf of a Hawaiian, "I am not an American." What do you feel about that? And I'll hang up and listen.
[00:39:26] Randall Roth: Okay, and obviously sovereignty is something we could do a series of shows on and just scratch the surface. But real quickly, Scott, do you have a reaction to um uh Haunani-Kay Trask's statement as passed on to us by Steve?
[00:39:40] Scott Saiki: Well, actually, I that's a question that will be answered by Native Hawaiians and the plebiscite, you know, whether or not they want to proceed with sovereignty, and if so, what form of government would they like to see um implemented?
[00:39:52] Randall Roth: Okay, this is going to be our our last one on on Steve's question. What uh what's your reaction to Haunani-Kay Trask's statement?
[00:39:59] Quentin Kawananakoa: I, you know, I am an American, and I think most Hawaiians would say that they are an American. I think what they're look at this state in time, and what they're looking at is a is the possibility of running their lives and having some sort of autonomy outside of the jurisdiction of the state in order to better their lives, perhaps better the state of Hawaii.
[00:40:20] Randall Roth: Okay. Uh, in case you joined us late, uh I'm Randy Roth. This is the Price of Paradise radio show. We have four first-time legislators with us. Quentin Kavana-Nakoa, Colleen Meyer are Republicans, Ed Case and Scott Saiki are Democrats. If you'd like to ask a question or make a brief comment, you can reach us at 955-8821. Those of you who tuned in expecting to hear Saint Paul's Sunday morning, uh you're going to hear it in its entirety, but beginning today, it's going to begin at 9:00 each Sunday morning rather than 8:30, which has been the case in the past. Again, this is the Price of Paradise radio show. We're going to be on until 9:00, and if you'd like to ask a question or make a brief comment, just call 955-8821. Well, we have a caller from uh Pava'a, I believe it is, Sharon.
[00:41:12] Speaker 6: Um yes, I had a question that went back to Marsha's question, but it's kind of both a philosophical question and an issue for both parties. In the early 1970s, the election laws stated that candidates must um support the platform of the party that they were running from. And this was deleted in the in a conference draft in about '73 or '74. So, it would appear that the parties are simply a label for candidates to run on um without having any particular loyalties to the platform of the beliefs of the party.
[00:41:50] Scott Saiki: So it makes the platform less important.
[00:41:52] Speaker 6: It makes it practically meaningless for the people in both parties who work very hard to figure out what it is they want their parties to support.
[00:42:00] Randall Roth: Okay, do you have a question?
[00:42:01] Speaker 6: Yeah, my question is whether the freshman legislators feel that the platform, how it relates to what they do on a day-to-day basis during the session.
[00:42:14] Randall Roth: Okay, let's start with Colleen. Colleen Meyer, uh, what do you think about Sharon's comment?
[00:42:20] Colleen Meyer: Well, I wasn't aware of the history when she went back to the '70s. Uh, actually, I'm I'm really a citizen legislator. I've been a lifelong Republican, but I've not been a person who's worked in the party system for a long period of time.
[00:42:35] Randall Roth: So you don't feel constrained. You don't feel as though you have to follow that platform?
[00:42:39] Colleen Meyer: Well, the platform that the Republican Party passed uh in 1994 was of a pretty general uh form and one that I I agreed with. Mhm. And and I didn't feel like I was uh uh you know, hampered or or that I must agree to things I didn't already agree to.
[00:42:58] Randall Roth: Okay. So I was comfortable. Okay. Quentin, you're comfortable with the Republican Party platform?
[00:43:04] Quentin Kawananakoa: I am comfortable with it. Uh, however, I would not uh I'd be inclined to vote against a particular part or plank of the platform if that's what my constituency believed in. Okay. So I don't think we should be necessarily held uh bound to the platforms of our party. Wow.
[00:43:20] Randall Roth: Scott Saiki, okay, Scott Saiki, does that kind of go to leadership that you were saying is needed?
[00:43:25] Scott Saiki: Yes, I think platforms are important because they provide a philosophical base. Um, and it's important for leadership to to create a vision for um for House members to follow.
[00:43:35] Randall Roth: Okay. Ed, any any thoughts on this?
[00:43:38] Ed Case: I I'll probably give you the mirror image of Quentin's response, which is that, you know, I'm [unintelligible — audio glitch] am and have been a Democrat because I believe it gives me the greatest uh flexibility in terms of of my thinking and I agree with the general principles. But but I have voted against elements of the Democratic Party platform. I think on some issues, the Republicans are are able to articulate uh some needs uh better than the Democrats, but on those minority issues, [unintelligible — audio glitch] try to listen to them and, you know, vote the way I think my constituents would want me to do.
[00:44:07] Randall Roth: So you think they elected you rather than voted for the platform of your party?
[00:44:12] Ed Case: Yeah, I think that's right. I think I you know, I tried to articulate my beliefs during the campaign and and um they seem to be in agreement with those beliefs because they elected me, so I try and carry them out.
[00:44:21] Randall Roth: Okay. Well, we've got a Thank you, Sharon, for your call. We've got a bunch of people on the line right now and so we're going to try to get through these very quickly. We're trying going to try to answer questions quickly. I believe next is Anastasia Anastasia? Anstasia.
[00:44:36] Speaker 1: Anastasi from Waimanalo. Good morning.
[00:44:38] Randall Roth: Morning. Uh, I'm curious as to where um the panelists uh stand on the issue of gambling. That's a that's a good question. Very briefly, Scott Saiki, where do you stand?
[00:44:49] Scott Saiki: Well, we heard the lottery bill, I was opposed to that. I'm opposed to all forms of gambling.
[00:44:53] Randall Roth: All forms of gambling.
[00:44:54] Scott Saiki: Okay. Ed Case?
[00:44:55] Ed Case: Same response.
[00:44:56] Randall Roth: Okay. We're moving right along. Colleen, what do you think about gambling?
[00:45:00] Colleen Meyer: I don't think it's the answer and and I'm against it.
[00:45:03] Randall Roth: All forms?
[00:45:04] Colleen Meyer: Yes.
[00:45:05] Randall Roth: Okay.
[00:45:06] Quentin Kawananakoa: I'm voting down, it's not what our economy needs. We need to focus on our assets and not try to find new resources.
[00:45:13] Randall Roth: Did did we just by accident get four freshman legislators who happen to agree on that, or would you say [unintelligible — audio glitch] that's pretty much the feelings of of most of those 18 folks who are brand new in the legislature?
[00:45:24] Quentin Kawananakoa: You know, I know that's the feelings of of all my uh other freshman legislators, uh you may need to ask uh the minority because I mean, the majority what they decided in caucus they probably have a better feeling for their freshman counterparts.
[00:45:37] Randall Roth: Okay, Ed Case.
[00:45:38] Ed Case: I think the vote was, if I'm not mistaken, Scott, I think 14 out of the 18 freshman legislators voted against gambling. So it was most of the majority freshman Democrats.
[00:45:48] Randall Roth: Okay, well, we have a caller from Honolulu, Oscar. Good morning, Oscar.
[00:45:53] Speaker 4: Oscar, are you there? Yes, I am.
[00:45:55] Randall Roth: Good morning.
[00:45:55] Speaker 4: Good morning. Um, I'm positive uh both the Republicans and the Democrats uh sort of missed the boat on um uh on this whole issue of reinventing government. They talk about um downsizing government, but there were three areas that I'm that have not been addressed and I'm wondering why. One is this whole matter of decentralizing services to the counties rather than keeping up a strong centralized system.
[00:46:19] Randall Roth: Okay, that's one.
[00:46:20] Speaker 4: Assisted living for the elderly rather than institutionalizing them in nursing homes. And thirdly, there was a bill that had to do with uh privatizing community mental health services. That wasn't picked up. Now those those three areas that all could make a significant difference, but were not picked up by the party.
[00:46:36] Randall Roth: Okay. Well, let's get some quick reaction, not to all three of of these areas because it's because again, each one could be a show. But the whole notion of reinventing government, just changing the way it does things as opposed to to simply cutting back on the dollars or the increase in the dollars going to a given area. Ed?
[00:46:54] Ed Case: Absolutely. I think as I said earlier, that's one of the top priorities that we have to move. And I'll just comment briefly on one of those, which is privatization. It's a good example of an area in which uh perhaps I think the Republicans are moving in the [unintelligible — audio glitch] better direction than Democrats. I think some of our services need to be privatized. I think that's part of reinventing government, but that's that's a big issue down at the legislature. It's one of those things that people fight very hard over.
[00:47:16] Randall Roth: Okay. Colleen, uh Oscar listed uh three specific areas where he thought the legislature just missed the boat. Uh, any reaction to his his general theme or any of those three specific areas?
[00:47:28] Colleen Meyer: Well, I think uh his general theme is the reinventing or downsizing government. And uh in case uh was right. There's a lot of resistance. Again, it's the old guard. Uh they just they just abhor the thought of of eliminating anything or downsizing. They don't want to give up control. Privatization, they they have been resisting for years. And it's the thing we have to do. Uh private industry does things more efficiently and less expensive and we need to move that way.
[00:48:00] Randall Roth: Okay. Quentin, I've I've been hearing from uh your fellow Republican, Colleen, there on Maui and and here in the studio, um a pretty constant message, I think, that there's a big difference between the old guard and and what we'll call the young Turks, uh the first-time members of the legislature and um perhaps this area of reinventing government, doing things in a in a different sort of way is uh right at the heart of that. Do you agree with them?
[00:48:28] Quentin Kawananakoa: I absolutely, I do agree and I think uh all of us the freshman legislators are working in that direction. Let me just mention that an old time legislator, Barbara Maramoto has mentioned how open debate has been. This is a first time in what she said 17 years that she's seen such an uh an open forum for debate and new ideas. Uh I would question the caller's concern about both the Republican and the Democrats not looking at reinventing government if uh because we're in a minority. We're seven out of 51, so a lot of our ideas don't get uh aired. However, if you look to the federal government with now a Republican majority, we are seeing incredible changes, phenomenal uh uh changes in in the way we look at government, downsizing it. And as far as I'm concerned, the closer we can get government to the people, the better.
[00:49:17] Randall Roth: So you'd say If people like the contract with America and and the push of of power, you know, closer to the people, then then they ought to vote for more Republicans.
[00:49:29] Quentin Kawananakoa: Yeah.
[00:49:30] Randall Roth: Okay. Thanks for the quick answer. Scott Saiki, you got to respond to that and then I'll move to another caller.
[00:49:35] Scott Saiki: Well, you know, reinventing government is uh, you know, is a politically correct kind of term and it sounds really good and but I think we have to be It's it's hard to be against that right now, right? Right, right. And but we have to be very cautious about it because it entails um changing laws and systems such as as such as our civil service system, um programs. I think the example here is the reinvention of of federal government and how that will affect two issues that Oscar raised, assisted living and and mental health services. I think we'll see some radical changes in in the area of human services in the next year or two.
[00:50:08] Randall Roth: Because the federal government is going to say to the state, do some stuff that we've been doing?
[00:50:12] Scott Saiki: Right.
[00:50:13] Randall Roth: Okay. Well, we've got a couple more callers who have been waiting very patiently. First, Mike from Manoa. Good morning, Mike.
[00:50:19] Speaker 3: Morning. Uh good morning.
[00:50:20] Randall Roth: Good morning.
[00:50:21] Speaker 3: Yeah. My question uh goes to the uh uh to the to the genesis of the radio station or the radio program uh the Price of Paradise. I noticed uh the other day that Quentin had mentioned that on a letter in his letter to the editor of of being of of great importance uh to the future of the whole of Hawaii. Uh the 40% uh uh higher cost of uh living in Hawaii and the higher cost of doing business is a critical issue. What uh does the future hold for uh for addressing that particular problem? And I'll hang up. Thank you.
[00:50:55] Randall Roth: Okay. Let's get a quick response from from all four of our guests. How important is the high cost of living in Hawaii? You know, as we look at the priorities and and you can't focus on everything at once, uh how important is it to you, Ed Case, to do things that will bring down the cost of living in Hawaii?
[00:51:13] Ed Case: I think it's one of the top priorities. I mean, uh you know, we we've we've heard a million times about things like brain drain and children not being able to stay in Hawaii. I have two kids. I'm worried about whether they can come back here after college. So it's it's certainly high up on my list.
[00:51:26] Randall Roth: Okay. Scott?
[00:51:27] Scott Saiki: It's a top issue for me as well.
[00:51:29] Randall Roth: Okay. Quentin?
[00:51:30] Quentin Kawananakoa: Uh, high in my top of my list.
[00:51:32] Randall Roth: Okay. And and we'll refer people to your letter to the editor, right? How long ago was that uh in the paper?
[00:51:37] Quentin Kawananakoa: A few days back, I'm not I don't have the exact date. Okay.
[00:51:40] Randall Roth: Colleen?
[00:51:41] Colleen Meyer: Um, I feel that government is one of the reasons we have this high cost of living as we have. Um Business has very few friends in the legislature, and I think that's another problem. Business is dying. Business, small businesses is where we get our revenue base. Uh
[00:52:00] Randall Roth: Wait. Let Let me ask you a specific question. And that is this this new so-called pure no-fault car insurance bill that that passed the legislature. Um you know, you're the the lone non-lawyer of our four guests this morning, and uh every lawyer that I've talked to, and I don't know about uh our other three guests this morning, but every other lawyer that I've talked to has been against this this move toward no-fault insurance, and yet it's it's being described as um something that's going to bring down the cost of living here in Hawaii, at least a bit, because it's going to bring down the cost of car insurance. Um quick thoughts on that.
[00:52:40] Colleen Meyer: Are you talking to me, Randy?
[00:52:41] Randall Roth: You bet.
[00:52:42] Colleen Meyer: Uh, I agonized over the vote on that because it's a very complicated issue and the law that finally came out was something that was a bit of a mishmash that was hammered out in about the last two hours on Friday in the conference committees. Um I think I think that law will be vetoed. It is far from a I'm not a lawyer and I can still see all kinds of problems with it, but it was the only no-fault bill and I voted yes because I feel that people need the relief, but I don't think this bill will pass.
[00:53:12] Randall Roth: So you see it as a step in the right direction, but it's got to be cleaned up.
[00:53:16] Colleen Meyer: Right.
[00:53:16] Randall Roth: Okay. Ed Case?
[00:53:18] Ed Case: Well, I'm a lawyer and I think it's a step in the right direction. I think my concern in in in in looking at it is, it's it's one of those issues it's not a it's not a clear yes, but it's it's a it's a movement and you've you've got to go with it. My my concern right now is the scope of the per [unintelligible — audio glitch] retention of some protection for people that can't get it otherwise, I think that's what we have to sort through here.
[00:53:37] Randall Roth: Scott, you have any other thoughts?
[00:53:39] Scott Saiki: Well, I thought it was a bad bill, I voted against it, and I think that the 45% rollback was illusory. Um, the legislature implemented a 15% rollback a few years ago and that was never realized by consumers.
[00:53:52] Randall Roth: Quentin?
[00:53:53] Quentin Kawananakoa: I I agree, I absolutely have to I voted with reservations and my concern is that we have to move off of where we're at, the no-fault system is is absolutely defunct as far as I'm concerned, that we currently have and we have to move away, either to pure no-fault or pure tort, one of the other and no in between.
[00:54:11] Randall Roth: Okay. Well, we have a caller from Kailua, Sally. Good morning, Sally.
[00:54:15] Speaker 5: Good morning. Uh I think we need to get back to the subject of downsizing government. Um, my ox is being gored. My husband and I are both state employees and I think downsizing needs to start with the legislative branch. Uh, first of all, this is a very small state. We have maybe a population of what, a million and a half at this point? And that's a very small population from which to pull so many legislators. I think we can get the best leaders if we have fewer. So if we had about a third, made them full-time, and paid them the same as judges, I think they could do a lot better for us. What do you think?
[00:54:51] Randall Roth: Well, let's get a real quick reaction to fewer legislators, but let's make them full-time. Scott Saiki, in three words or less? I'm kidding. Do you have a reaction to Sally's suggestion?
[00:55:03] Scott Saiki: Well, I I think we need a part-time legislature. I think you need diversity. You need different kinds of people there. Um, I'm not sure if less legislators would solve the problems we're facing today.
[00:55:15] Randall Roth: Okay, Ed.
[00:55:17] Ed Case: The cost of running the legislature is .3% of the entire state budget. When I heard that figure, I was surprised. I I think the legislature in some areas needs to expand actually. For example, in in terms of the oversight of the state budget, we don't have enough resources to to know when the executive branch is or is not doing the job.
[00:55:34] Randall Roth: Quentin, any thoughts on this one?
[00:55:36] Quentin Kawananakoa: Yeah, I think the number is appropriate. We need more legislators if anything. Uh example would be the City and County with the county officials, council persons, uh the council members, they represent huge districts on the island of Oahu, and uh probably better served if they had more council members.
[00:55:53] Randall Roth: Okay. Okay. Sally, I appreciate your question. Uh we're running out of time. I'm going to have to move on and I'll explain to listeners that uh we lost Colleen momentarily on the phone and that's why I'm not asking for her thoughts on on that one.
[00:57:00] Speaker 7: The first one is as Ed mentioned, restoring integrity in government and in the legislature, and the second is, um, I think creating a vision for this state and what kind of direction we want to go in. I, I think that's lacking right now.
[00:57:12] Speaker 8: Uh, we don't really have a vision?
[00:57:14] Speaker 7: I don't think so.
[00:57:15] Speaker 8: Okay, how how would we, and and I I don't want to open this up into a long discussion, but how do you think we can start developing that vision? Does it have to come out of a political party or is there some other way that that vision can emerge?
[00:57:27] Speaker 7: I think there will be a combination of um of resources such as Price of Paradise and uh and the parties.
[00:57:33] Speaker 8: Okay. Quentin, any thoughts?
[00:57:35] Quentin Kawananakoa: Well, I agree. I think we need to have a vision for tomorrow for our future, for the oncoming my age, our age group, this four that you're discussing. Uh I think we have a a new look for Hawaii and we need to help foster that in the business community. And secondarily, we need to have more open forums, more open debate, where the public's opinion can truly be aired at the legislature.
[00:57:57] Speaker 8: Okay. Colleen, we have you back on the line, I believe.
[00:57:59] Colleen Meyer: Yes, Randy, I missed some of it, but to me one of the most important things we need to do is reform the legislative system. We need more openness. The conference process is far too closed, too much power and too few person's hands. If we want the public to trust what goes on there, we have to make it open.
[00:58:20] Speaker 8: Okay. Um, in one sentence, last thing, what's your advice to the people of Hawaii, Ed Case?
[00:58:27] Ed Case: Give us a chance. Give us a chance to do it. I think we're trying to change it. Let us, let us try it.
[00:58:32] Speaker 8: Okay. Scott?
[00:58:35] Scott Saiki: I agree, be patient. Um, it's a complicated process.
[00:58:39] Speaker 8: Vote in more young Turks?
[00:58:40] Scott Saiki: Yes, more young Turks.
[00:58:42] Quentin Kawananakoa: Vote for the young ones and also hold us to our, to our ward. Don't let us say no new taxes [unintelligible — audio glitch] allow us to increase taxes. Hold us to what you did, especially with the general excise tax. The public rose up and said, do not increase that or else. And I think we saw it not happen.
[00:58:57] Speaker 8: Okay. Colleen?
[00:58:58] Colleen Meyer: Call your legislator, let your feelings be known. The people do listen, uh, but you must, you must take more of an active part.
[00:59:07] Speaker 8: Okay. I want to thank my guests this morning, Colleen Meyer and Quentin Kavanagh-Nakoa are Republicans and they've been hooked in by phone. They're on Maui right now attending the State Republican Party Convention. Scott Psychi and Ed Case are Democrats and they've been here in the studio with me. Uh as I explained to them before the show, we had four guests, which is more than than usual, and each of them uh is very articulate and has a lot to say, and I encourage them to keep their responses short, and I I really appreciate the fact that that they all did so.
[00:59:39] Speaker 8: Uh we've got some great shows coming up. In three weeks we're going to be talking about crime and punishment in Hawaii. We have police chief Michael Nakamura who's going to be here talking about various things such as how a person can be arrested 40 or 50 times uh before something is actually done, and an official from the Public Safety Department, Ted Sakai, who's going to be talking about various limitations in terms of prison space and that sort of thing. Crime and punishment in Hawaii. Two weeks from today, we're going to be talking about the Bishop estate with Dickie Wong and Jerry Jervis, a couple of the trustees over there, and I think that's going to be a real exciting conversation.
[01:00:18] Speaker 8: Next week, affirmative action. We had Jared Jassam who is the former head of the State Republican Party and a labor lawyer or as a Democrat friend of mine described it, an anti-labor lawyer. Jared is going to be talking with Jackie Young who is the director of the State office on affirmative action and they'll be talking about affirmative action, what it is, whether or not it's working, whether or not it should be repealed, all of those sorts of things which I think you'll find very, very interesting. We uh appreciate uh the the willingness of our St. Paul Sunday morning audience to uh to accept a slight delay. Their show will be starting in just a few minutes. You've been listening to the Price of Paradise Radio Show. I'm Randy Roth, Aloha.
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