Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 9, Number 10, 1 October 1992 — Let's change [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Let's change

by Louis Hao Trustee, Moloka'i & Lana'i After the 1990 elections I felt a genuine sense of worth as an OHA trustee because I perceived that we finally had the best Board of Trustees that had ever been asserabled and elected by the

Hawaiian people. The Board now consists of an ex-senator (Hee), ex-councilman (Aiona), an ex-OHA administracor (Kanahele), three veteran members from the first Board of Trustees (Kaulukukui, Keale and DeSoto), two trustees with six years

of Board experience (Akaka and Hao), and a new trustee (AJcana). I really cannot believe how wrong I was. The antics whieh followed the 1990 elections are now a matter of history. We are now ending the current regime amid the turmoil of poor trustee relationships, bad publicity and probably the low level of trust in OHA in its short 12-year history. The past two years presented dismal situations — Trustee Keale losthis chairmanship due to allegations of conflict of interest and illegal signing of a eontract with an organization named Uhaele, a consulting and investment firm from the continental U.S. Keale chose to leave the matter in the hands of the Attorney General's office (AG), and after more than a year the AG's office has not informed us of its findings. The

question is: Was Keale's trust in the AG's office the right decision or should he have retained his chairmanship? After all, a man is innocent until proven guilty. Then there was the scenario that led to a vote of no confidence and the reolacement of

Trustee Akana as vice chair by Trustee Aiona. Under current leadership, we are experiencing the sophisticated style of the state legislature, whieh is very different from any form of governanee that we had ever I experienced before in OHA. We are dealing

with a skilled politician who understands the state legislature. The last two years are quickly drawing to a close. I foresee better days for OHA if certain conditions are met. We need change. Yes, we need a leader who listens to both the Hawaiian people and the BOT members. Yes, we need a leader who cares and shares his or her mana'o with all concerned. Yes, we literally need a "team" and a "team leader". Only then ean we stop this cycle of self destruction. Only then ean the full potential of all trustees be utilized, whieh would result in greater benefits for all the Hawaiian people. Currently we are our own worst enemies. So let' s change and work for the good of all Hawai'i. Aloha.