Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 18, Number 5, 1 May 2001 — Politics, elections, money [ARTICLE]

Politics, elections, money

It is infuriating to watch a eouple of well-funded politicians, like Sen. Cal Kawamoto, bIock campaign finance reform year a after year. Clearly, with hundreds of thousands of dollars in their campaign war chests, Kawamoto and friends have no desire to change politics-as-usual here in Hawai'i. Now that the "reformers" and the "big money" folks are clearly marked, we have to wonder: Where is everyone else? The majority of our elected officials have been suspiciously quiet on the topic of statelevel campaign fīnance reform. It is perhaps these legislators who

are to blame for their laek of action, because they have the knowledge and power to make a difference but are too reluctant to do so. In shying away from this issue, they fail to live up to their duty as community and political leaders. Many see campaign finance as just one issue, but the ramifications are huge. The overwhelming role of money in politics disheartens voters, discourages good f>eople from running for office, reduces eleetoral competitiveness, and skews policy priorities and outcomes. Let's urge all our elected officials to eome together now and find a way to reform Hawai'i's campaign finance system this session. Nikki Love, executive director Hawai'i Elections Pro)ect