Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 31, Number 11, 1 Nowemapa 2014 — Oz Stender reflects on a lifetime of service [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Oz Stender reflects on a lifetime of service

As he prepares to step down, the longtime OHA trustee reminds us to 'Always close circles' By Garett Kamemoto For Oswald Stender, it has always been about closing circles, fixing problems and doing what he believes to be the right thing, even when it is not the popular thing. On a dreary, overcast day in October, he is sitting in a rocking chair at his home in Maunawili, reminiscing about his years at Campbell and Bishop estates and as a trustee at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. He says he sincerely believes OHA's best days are ahead. But at 83, he is ready to retire. "I've done everything I wanted to do," Stender said. "I think I've done a lot. It's time to stop." Stender's term at OHA ended on Election Day as he has chosen not to run for re-election. "I tell people if I die today, I'm happy with my life," he adds. Then his visage changes. The look in his eyes says he is about to say something that's been gnawing at him. "I hope the (OHA) trustees find another way to manage Kaka'ako, because the way it's set up, it's not going to work." His words might infuriate some. But it is hardly the type of thing that is unexpected from a man whose friends and admirers eall straightforward and principled. Stender was orphaned at a young age and was raised by his tūtū kāne in Hau'ula who, Stender says, "pounded into me that if there's something wrong, fix it. Don't let it stew."

It is a concept that was reinforced during his time 1 at the Estate of | James Campbell. | His mentor was Herb Cornuelle, chairman at the Campbell Estate. Stender remembers Cornuelle would tell him: "Always close circles. If someone is causing a problem that needs to be fixed, fix it." For Stender, closing circles is done with respect, love I and charity. I Live, work, play It was 1958 when Stender joined Campbell Estate as | an assistant prop-

erty manager. At that time, Campbell

Estate was going through a master planning for a community 22 miles outside Honolulu with no major connecting infrastructure. The eoncept was to eome up with a community with a plaee for people live, play and work. Stender, as chief executive officer from 1976 to 1988, played an instrumental role in getting governmental approvals for the Second City of Kapolei. He marvels that the plan developed in 1958 is very close to what is developing in Kapolei today. Stender said: "All of it would not have happened if the trustees didn't get all the experts that they needed to help them make those decisions. It's amazing that it all worked." His goal in life at that time was to retire at 55, and while his official resume lists his retirement in 1988, he stayed on as a senior adviser until 1990. 'Bring the house down' It was 1989. Stender was summoned to meet with the state Supreme Court. He was informed he had been selected as a trustee of the then-Bishop Estate. He was taken ahaek. He had been urged to apply, but did not. He felt the position was a political reward and viewed himself as apolitical. But at the meeting, he was informed he needed to immediately accept or reject the offer. "I did do it because: 1) it's a very prestigious appointment, 2) I'm an alumni and 3) I had issues with the things that Bishop Estate was doing, whieh I didn't like, and I thought this was a way to fix it," Stender said. Stender later met with one of the justices, Edward Nakamura, over breakfast and asked why he was chosen. Nakamura told him he was a compromise candidate: that the justices were deadlocked over political appointments but no one had a problem with Stender's appointment. "I was a political fix to a problem that they had," Stender

remembered. "It had nothing to do with the trust, so there's the problem: the system is rigged." In fact, Stender gave an interview alleging the system was rigged and the appointments to the board were poliīieal rewards, angering his fellow trustees. Former state House Speaker Henry Peters was on the board before Stender was appointed. After his appointment, former Senate President Richard "Dickie" Wong, Maui educator Lokelani Lindsey and attorney Gerard Jervis were appointed to the board. "The only way to end that whole political process was to bring the house down. That's when I started to rally the troops: the students, the teachers, the alumni and the community," he said. He says he admires the teachers and the community who rallied to his side as they had the most to lose. He later received some sense of validation from Nakamura, who had retired from the heneh. "He said all this ruckus I was raising was necessary. The Supreme Court was being compromised by this whole process of appointments." Stender said. Nakamura died a few months later and then the high court decided stop appointing trustees to the Bishop Estate, leaving the decision to the probate court. "I'd like to think that (Nakamura) did it," Stender said, "He talked to them. I give him credit for changing the process of trustee appointments." Stender sued to oust Trustee Lokelani Lindsey, who was accused of micromanaging the Kamehameha Schools. Ultimately, all of the trustees were ousted or resigned, including Stender. Lindsey had heeome the focal point for student, teacher and community protests over allegations she micromanaged the Schools. But Stender said it all started with a desire to get the right people to be trustees of the Kamehameha Schools, not political appointees. Why OHAP "People say 'Why OHA?' I said, same problem. Here you have an organization that's good for the Hawaiian. Kamehameha is good for the Hawaiian. OHA is the only thing that the Hawaiians had and the reputation at the time was cruddy. I mean when you mentioned OHA, everybody thought it was a joke." Stender's ehuekle is distinctive and easy. He's recalling his decision to heeome an OHA trustee without realizing he had to run for a political office. He placed his name on the ballot in 2000. He was elected and has served ever since. His focus was payments to Hawaiians for the state's use of ceded lands, an issue that had been unresolved for 30 years. He believes Hawaiians should have gotten more from the state. "I'mreally disappointed in the Legislature and administration, for they all admit to the fact that the Hawaiians were shortchanged and the Hawaiians are owed this money but they won't pay," Stender said. Kaka'ako Makai To settle some of the back payments owed to OHA, the state agreed to transfer an estimated $200 million in land in Kaka'ako Makai to the agency. To Stender, his fellow trustees are trying to micromanage development in the area. "The trustees all feel that they have to have their hand in it, but they shouldn't." He said it is impos- SEE STENDER ON PAGE 10

Oswald Stender at his home in Maunawili, with his beloved dog, Kaena, in his lap. - Photo: Helson Gaspar

STENDER

Continued from page 5 sible for the board of trustees of a state agency to manage such a project because it has to operate under the open meetings law, otherwise known as the Sunshine Law. He believes that day-to-day decisions need to be handled by a developer or other real estate experts. "You cannot manage real estate under the Sunshine Law because decisions have to be made quickly. You can't wait a week to publish an agenda and then meet. Real estate requires instantaneous decisions." He said the trustees need look no further on how it handles its investment portfolio for an effective model: investment firms handle day-to-day transactions. "You take the portfolio and you give it to somebody to run it, because they're smarter than you and they ean act quickly. In the

old days, the trustees made those (investment) decisions and (the portfolio) never grew." But he says he believes people respect the work OHA does more than ever before and points to the millions of dollars eaeh year the agency gives to eommunity projects, including support for Hawaiian-focused charter schools. OHA's trust fund has grown and he believes the agency is well positioned for the future. If you visit his office and his home, you see pictures of his family everywhere. He thanks them, especially wife, Ku'ulei, for accommodating him and his endeavors, whieh have taken from family time. He insists he will devote more time to family and then adds he wants to be a delegate at the upcoming Hawaiian governance 'aha. He believes his perspective will be valuable. Yet another circle he needs to close. ■