Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 15, Number 8, 1 August 1998 — Protect Hawaiian entitlements by voting this November [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Protect Hawaiian entitlements by voting this November

AWOKE TO the news of Roy Roger's death. My mind immediately wandered back to small kid time. How many of us spent our Saturday afternoons at the theater watching our hero Roy riding Trigger to save the day. He got rid of the bad guys, always helped the settlers and then rode off into the sunset singing . " Happy Trails to You." I remember cheering for the eowboys and watching the cavalry squash all the mean Indians. Well, time has passed and I'm all grown up now and 1 see the big picture. The Indians were not the ruthless villains they were depicted to be. What they were doing was protecting their homes. land and rights. Sound familiar? Like our native American counter-

parts, we Hawaiians are fighting for our home, land and our fair share of the public land trust entitlements. Although the economy of Hawai'i is a critical issue, it should not be resolved at the expense of the Hawaiians fair share of the entitlements. Why are we being asked to save the state's economy? This unfair attitude on the part of our lawmakers could change with your vote at the polls on election day. It is imperative that all Hawaiians register and vote. I have been a trustee for 18 years and I know numbers show strength. Statistics show there are more than 150,000 eligible Hawaiian voters but the actual voter registration and turnout has been exceptionally poor. OHA beneficiaries are generally angry and dis-

trustful of government and don't believe that their participation ean make a difference in making governmental processes work on their

behalf. Government, on the other hand, dismisses the Hawaiian eleetorate as ineffective. A large voter turnout could change the whole pieture. Your vote does count. Don'tlet OHA elections pass without your participation. November is right around the corner. The issues of Hawaiians are serious and must be addressed. You must gather as mueh information as you ean on your candidates - not only OHA candidates, but those running for publie office. Too often, OHA beneficiaries have been divided on key issues, but recent detestable legislation united Hawaiians as seldom seen before. In a tremendous display of culture, intelligence and dignity, Hawaiians showed a strength of purpose that forced legislators to back down. Your elected trustees must be knowledgeable. I know we have family or friends running, but ask yourself

if they ean do they job. What is their stand on Hawaiian issues? Can they handle or even understand legislative maneuvers? Can they sit and create a $12 million budget? Managea$302 million portfoho? I hear the words "LŌKAHI" and "PONO" over and over. As the senior trustee, I say you don't need a board that is not asking the hard questions or that spends most of its time disagreeing. Youdon'tneedapupf>etboard where the chairman is pulling the strings. You need a board where eaeh individual trustee is doing his own thinking. Remember, it's your future that is being created and no future has ever been created in silence. Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example to believe in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, and in purity. I Timothy 4:12 ■

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