Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 23, Number 8, 1 August 2006 — Electing the right candidates will help Hawaiians [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Electing the right candidates will help Hawaiians

Aloha. The stage for the 2006 eleetions has been set and Hawaiians have an opportunity to impact loeal, state and federal elections with their votes. No shame, eall the county clerk's office or even the OHA office on your island to find out where you ean get voter registration forms and complete it by Aug. 24, 2006. Then, get a stamp and send in your form. While you're at it, get a request for an absentee ballot form and send it in too to request that the county clerk send you a ballot by mail so you ean vote in the comfort of your own home and ask your kumu who to vote for - only if you don't know. That's the whole idea of voting, you vote for whom and what you think is best: for you, for your family, for your country. And main ting, no forget da Hawaiians. Okay, so how ean your one vote count? It's not only your vote, but also everyone else who makes the effort to register, get a ballot and send it in with a stamp or go to the polls. Those who do this and are not lazy, complacent or too busy ean at least say my vote counted if your candidate wins and, if not, then at least you tried. Those who don't vote can't eomplain although it's usually they who cry the most. So, okay, how do you decide who to vote for? Well, if you read the paper, watch the news or even listen to the radio, you should have an idea of who's running, their parties, what they're running for and what they're pitching. If you only surf all-day or only listen to your ipod, you need to ask some trusted friends and family what they think. But, don't think your ignorance must stop you from voting. Try it, you'll like it. You'll feel "empowered." And then watch out next election, why, you may even run yourself. And that shouldn't be so far fetched. When this election is over, the next one could very well be the one for a constitutional convention, whieh would elect delegates to fashion a poliīieal structure for the future of the Hawaiian people. This,

in turn, would mālama the Hawaiian people, their lands and their culture so that all of Hawai'i might be a better plaee to live, especially for our posterity. The process of beginning this effort towards Hawaiian self-determination and recognition not only as the descendents of a noble people but legally as the "First Peoples" of Hawai'i, thereby providing equality and parity with the two other "First Peoples" of the United States, the Indians and Eskimos, has already begun. Hawaiians have every right to establish some kind of organization that ean speak for them at home and in Washington, D.C. Our state government will likely weigh in on this, and hopefully for the better. And then we ean begin to focus ourselves on our own problems, promises and future. As you think about this, remember your vote this year will have a significant effect on your future and that of your grandchildren. Elect the wrong candidates and we all suffer the consequences. Elect the right candidates and we press on until we have achieved equality, parity, justice and fairness for our people. So in order for all of us, including the 80 percent of Hawai'i's residents who are non-Hawaiians, to understand and appreciate why the need for Hawaiians to create some means of organizational structure to help implement programs and efforts for Hawaiians, there must be better information and education, and OHA ean and will improve on this in the future. As for this election, stay tuned for the next issue. Until then, go register. E3

Bnyd P. Mūssman TrustEE, Maui