Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 9, Number 8, 1 ʻAukake 1992 — Political activity: be involved! [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Political activity: be involved!

by Trustee Abraham Aiona, Vice-Chair & Trustee, Maui

As a Trustee and a Native Hawaiian, it has become increasingly clear to me that some of our people do not understand the poliueal process and the need to become involved. It is not enough to ask for something and then expect our legislators to carry the ball for

us. The initial request is only the start of a long and laborious process, one filled with many obstacles and pitfalls, and sometimes disappointments. I have been to and chaired eommunity meetings where our beneficiaries loudly eomplain that "OHA has done nothing." I turn this around and ask

the complainer, "What have you done to enhanee our cause?" OHA does mueh, but we cannot do it alone. We

need the support and help of eaeh beneficiary. We need to live in the solution, not the problem. At our Board meeting in Kona on May 14, there was a large number of activists complaining about many things. I did not see many of them, however, at the recent

state legislature testifying on behalf of the many bills that had been introduced. It would be great to see them there next year. We were successful in our work, however, and several very, very important bills were just recently signed into law by our Hawaiian gov-

ernor, John Waihe'e. We are most fortunate to have a keiki o ka 'aina as our governor and I say mahalo nui loa to him. I respect and aloha him. It is a right for all Hawaiians to register and to vote, something that people take for granted in our land. That is not enough, however. You must work for candidates that you believe in, know their political beliefs, and their background, and then work as hard as you ean for their eleehon. Only through your involvement and hard work will you be able to obtain satisfaction that you have done a good job.

During the last legislative session, the OHA lobbying team, composed of Chairman Clayton Hee, Trustee Frenchy DeSoto and myself, along with Administrators Richard Paglinawan and Stanley Lum, spent

countless hours lobbying, testifying, socializing, and even badgering key people. I must confess that time away from the office and home did affect our families. We felt the job had to be done, though, and we did the best we could. The fruits of this hard work were publicized recently in the papers, showing the $111.8 million settlement for OHA and the multimillion appropriation for DHHL.

In closing, I would like to suggest reading the comments we received from our Hawaiian Senator Malama Solomon, a former trustee, congratulating OHA and the members of the team. An article appears in this issue of Ka Wai Ola. (See page 10.) You be the judge of our work and involvement.