Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 29, Number 5, 1 May 2012 — Last one standing [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Last one standing

Aften 19 years, Deputy Attomey General sees the fruits of her lahon

By Lisa Asato Deputy Attorney General Charleen Aina halfjokingly calls herself the "last man standing." That's because when it comes to the recent settlement for past-due revenues, she ean honestly say she's been at the table since Day 1. "I think it's rewarding to see," she said of the closure to the 19-year saga over disputed revenues owed to OHA. "Well, put it this way, it's unusual for the cases that I've had to ever end, so this is very good." Aina doesn't get effusive about

it. She was just doing her job, she said. And even though she's Hawaiian, she approached the issue "first and foremost" as an attorney for the state. But emotion eame through on March 30 as the settlement bill cleared its final legislative hurdle in the full House. During proceedings, Rep. Jo Jordan and others mentioned Frenchy DeSoto, and Aina got teary eyed. She had worked with the late OHA leader on the issue and developed a respect for her. "We didn't mind bucking heads," Aina said, adding, "Working with her allowed me to do my job as best I could." Aina, who joined the AG's office in 1976, helped draft the memoran-

aum or unaerstanaing tnat tea to the $ 134 million partial settlement between the Waihe'e administration andOHA, in 1993. The MOU also recognized that not all issues had been resolved; those disputes were put to rest by the recent $200 million settlement. The intervening years have seen numerous lawsuits and at least four attempts by four administrations to resolve the issue. Through it all, Aina has been the one constant. At the bill-signing ceremony in April, Abercrombie aeknowledged her perseverance, telling those gathered that the settlement wouldn't have happened without her. "It's not often that someone's there all the way through, and in the process goes unrecognized," he said later. "And I felt it was very important to put a human face on what otherwise could be seen as kind of abstract negotiations. There's always human beings at the core of it and she was always there working to try and bring about the kind of reconciliations that's represented in the bill." ■

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State Deputy Attorney General Charleen Aina, left, has been the sole constant in the effort to settle disputed revenues owed to OHA. She and Kate Stanley, the governor's senior adviser, share a happy moment after the House passed the settlement hill in March. - Photo: Lisa Asato