Maui Democratic team aiming high for success

The Maui News
Friday, November 10, 2006

By MELISSA TANJI and CLAUDINE SAN NICOLAS, Staff Writers

WAILUKU – An all-Democratic delegation in the state Legislature doesn't guarantee success, but it helps, Maui County's incoming legislative team said this week.

After the voting Tuesday, the legislative contingent from Maui County will be all Democrats for the first time in more than 20 years. County Democratic Party Chairwoman Kallie Keith-Agaran said the party is delighted and believes the members will be better able to focus on legislation important to the county.

The last Republican among the six House members and three senators was Rep. Chris Halford, who held the 11th House District seat representing South Maui for the past 12 years but said he would not run this year. Democrat Joe Bertram III, a longtime open space and greenways advocate, defeated Republican Tony Fisher for the seat.

"Chris Halford was a great guy. I think he represented his district well, but the problem is that there's such a divide between the two parties," said Keith-Agaran.

It's not only about party membership. It's also how legislators work together, she said.

"Right now Democrats are in a mood for cooperation," she said.

But veteran state legislators Joe Souki and Bob Nakasone, who both handily won re-election, noted that Democrats also can fight among themselves.

"I look forward to working with a strong Maui delegation. (But) the delegation is only as good if they can stick together like bread and jelly," Souki said.

Among the Maui Democrats, there is one other newcomer, Angus McKelvey of Lahaina, who defeated incumbent Rep. Kam Tanaka in the primary election and GOP challenger Dr. Ben Azman in the general. McKelvey will represent the 10th House District that includes a portion of Maalaea and north Kihei as well as West Maui.

The new team also includes Rep. Kyle Yamashita, who won re-election to the 12th House District representing Upcountry Maui.

On Wednesday, most old and new House and Senate members were on Oahu to discuss leadership roles and committee assignments, preparing for the opening of the 2007 Legislature on Jan. 17. But there were no decisions announced on leadership changes or assignments to committees.

Still, incumbent Sen. J. Kalani English, who represents the 6th Senate District, said an all-Democratic delegation will help to push allocations for capital improvement projects for Maui District schools.

When Republicans held the seats in the 11th and 10th House Districts, it was more difficult for those representatives to win funding for capital improvements in their districts since the allocations committee is controlled by the Democratic majority, he said. The Democratic senators in the Republican districts needed to press for allocations, he said.

Sen. Roz Baker, who represents both South and West Maui, had the most to gain and took a keen interest in Tuesday's results.

"I'm very excited that for the first time in a long time we have two representatives from the same party," she said.

An all-Democratic delegation "is going to make us much stronger. . . . I'm looking forward to good teamwork for both West Maui and South Maui," she said.

English, an advocate for alternative energy programs and environmental protection, said he appreciates the addition of a "green" tinge in the delegation with Bertram. Bertram is director of Greenways Maui and campaigned on environmental issues such as bikeways, walkways and walkable communities.

The other new House member, McKelvey, has "great passion" that English expects he will apply to education, health and transportation issues.

Keith-Agaran called the new delegation a "nice mix" of ethnicities and ages that is representative of the community.

For Rep. Mele Carroll, the results were a gratifying approval of her efforts to represent her district of East Maui, Molokai, Lanai and Kahoolawe.

She was appointed to the 13th District seat in 2005 after the elected representative, Sol Kaho'ohalahala, resigned to accept appointment as chief of the Kahoolawe Island Reserve Commission.

She won the seat this time with 4,717 votes, 69 percent of the votes cast, to preserve the Democratic "block."

"I think it's good for Maui. I feel that if our delegation sticks together and works together, we can accomplish a lot for our constituents in Maui County," she said.

Souki, a former House speaker, said, "It's too early" to tell what will be the key issues for the Maui County delegation. Each of the candidates established his or her own priorities during the campaigns, he said, including Bertram focusing on concerns of the South Maui District and McKelvey challenging Gov. Linda Lingle on the West Maui traffic issue.

"Each one has their own kuleana," Souki said. "We are going to sit down and hopefully come out with a direction."

If the members of the delegation go astray, it will be difficult to get anything done, he added. While Democrats hold a majority in the Legislature, there are "Democratic minorities," he said, referring to factions that become obstacles to agreement.

Nakasone, the longtime Kahului district member, agreed with Souki on the need for the legislators to unite on common issues.

"Hopefully we can get together early and set an agenda for Maui County," he said.

Baker offered a number of priorities for the Maui County delegation, saying it should support construction funds for a new Kihei high school and for needed elementary school facilities.

"We're just going to have to go for the best we can," she said.

The Maui legislators may be able to get leverage by promoting private partnerships with cooperative developers, such as Everett Dowling, who already is working on plans for a new high school that he could build for the Department of Education.

Working as a team, she said, Maui legislators are in a "strong position" to convince their colleagues to support school construction funds for Maui.

"We can tell them that this is where the growth is, this is where the need is," she said.

Bertram said he will press for a Kihei high school while he also is advocating actively for a hospital in South Maui, a project that was rejected by the State Health Planning and Development Agency.

"Every community should be complete," he said, saying there is a need for adequate schools and medical facilities in his district.

But his effort on the hospital could run into conflicts with proposals for upgraded medical facilities in West Maui, while past efforts in the Legislature to eliminate the state health planning law have failed.

Bertram was focused on committee assignments that will be parceled out by the Democratic caucus, saying he hopes to sit on committees dealing with education, health, housing and traffic.

Sen. Shan Tsutsui, who won re-election to his 4th District seat in the primary, said he was glad to see the two new Democrats elected to the House.

"I think it's going to be good for Maui at this point," he said. "I think communication flows a lot easier. If you're of a different party, you might not express yourself as much as with someone who is in your party."

Tsutsui said committee assignments are key to dealing with public concerns, and he hopes to continue to have a leadership position on the Ways and Means Committee, for which he was vice chairman during the last term.

Maui was well represented on the key money committee, with both Tsutsui and English assigned to it during the 2005-06 sessions.

"We just want to make sure we're spread out and that Maui is represented well," he said.

Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com. Claudine San Nicolas can be reached at claudine@mauinews.com.

Copyright © 2005 The Maui News.

Original article URL: http://www.mauinews.com/story.aspx?id=25055

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