A New Chapter for
Japanese Americans in Hawai'i After Election

November 2002

In last week's election, Hawai'i voters elected a Republican governor for the first time since 1959. That year, the Territory of Hawai'i achieved statehood and Republican William Quinn, the last territorial governor, was elected as the first governor of the new state. His tenure would be short-lived, as Democrat John Burns - backed by a well-organized Japanese American community and by labor - would be elected to office in 1962.

The Japanese American community would play a critical role in Hawai'i politics for the remainder of the century. In 1973, Lieutenant Governor George Ariyoshi became acting governor when Burns fell ill, and then was the nation's elected first Asian American governor in 1974. John Waihee, the nation's first Pacific Islander governor would be elected in 1986. His lieutenant governor, Ben Cayetano, would be elected in 1994 as the nation's first Filipino American governor.

Democrats set the stage for winning the governor's office by first winning both houses of the State Legislature, a dominance that continues until today. Except for Burns, all of Hawai'i's Democratic governors have come from the State House. Ariyoshi was a powerful leader in the Senate. Waihee served one term in the House. Cayetano served two terms in the House and two terms in the Senate, once siding with five other dissident members in an unsuccessful attempt to control the upper house.

On the national stage, Daniel Inouye's and Spark Matsunaga's election to Congress and then to the United States Senate firmly established both men as titular leaders of the Hawai'i Democratic Party. Democrat Patsy Mink and Republican Pat Saiki would both be elected to Congress.

Through the rise and dominance of the Democrats, it is generally accepted that the labor unions and the Japanese American community were the key players in the party's success. Democrats fought to achieve equal status for minorities in Hawai'i and quickly enacted laws and policies that would assure equal opportunities for the new state's citizens.

On November 5th, the Democrats suffered their biggest loss since statehood. Republican Linda Lingle, a former mayor of the county of Maui, soundly defeated Lieutenant Governor Mazie Hirono in the governor's race. Ethnic politics played a significant role in the election, a strategy that both sides denounced, but simultaneously embraced. Lingle courted the Filipino American and Native Hawaiian communities, two demographics that would play a key role in the election.

In Hawai'i, the party's nominees for lieutenant governor are elected separately from the governor in the respective primaries. Matt Matsunaga, Spark Matsunaga's son and a State Senator, won the Democratic nomination. Duke Aiona, a Native Hawaiian and former judge, beat former CNN anchor Dalton Tanonaka for the Republican nomination.

Conventional wisdom in Hawai'i political circles dictates that gubernatorial candidates be paired with a running mate from a different ethnic group to best reach the widest demographic. Although elected on their own, the parties once heavily influenced races for lieutenant governor.

Despite that, the all-JA team of Hirono and Matsunaga was not widely spoken as a liability for the Democrats. The Republican Caucasian-Hawaiian team was a good match, as would have been Lingle's matching with Tanonaka, who is well-connected and liked by the JA community.

The big question then is whether or not the Democrats' loss is any indication of the decline of JA influence in Hawai'i politics. Veteran Hawai'i pollster Don Clegg said after the election: "Mazie was not getting the Democrats' normal share of the Japanese voters and that's due to the younger voter."

It's fair to say that the Japanese American community in Hawai'i is not as united a force that it once was. This is not an endorsement for ethnic groupthink, but the ability for the community to rally together.

A good example of the challenges facing JAs is the financial woes faced by the Japanese Cultural Center in Honolulu. The center needs $9 million by the end of the year to prevent bank foreclosures. Constructed in the early '90s, the center has a dojo, a teahouse, a banquet hall and a museum in addition to a generous amount of office space.

The center has had fundraising challenges for many years. Earlier this year, the chairman of the State Senate's budget committee allocated $8 million into the state budget for the center. The appropriation was vetoed by Governor Cayetano, who said he disagreed with the way the money was put into the budget and the lack of support from the Japanese American community for the money. No one appeared to complain about his veto, because the governor might have been correct.

An ad hoc committee has now been formed to spearhead an 11th hour fundraising drive to raise the $9 million. Since announcing such plans earlier this month, amounts ranging up to a half-million dollars have been pledged to the effort. But the battle is clearly uphill to save the center.

The election and the one example of fundraising challenges by the Japanese Cultural Center point to the beginning of a new chapter for Japanese Americans in Hawai'i. This new chapter starts with the reality that yonsei and gosei of the community are no longer driven by the social justice and economic motivations of the nisei and sansei - and therefore do not feel as compelled to actively engage in their ethnic community, nor the political party of their fathers and mothers.

Like other examples of groups rising to prominence and influence after fighting disadvantage, the Japanese American community may be a victim of its own success. The new enemy may be apathy. And that might be the worst foe yet.

Keith Kamisugi and Kyle Tatsumoto are da Two Japanee Bruddahs. E-mail them at wot@twojapaneebruddahs.com.

 

Dalton Tanonaka, former
CNN anchorman who ran for
lieutenant governor; now
President of the
Pacific Basin Economic Council