THREE words catch the essence of the Nov. 3 election for governor: Change, fear, comfort
define the electionChange -- It was the core of the Republican challenge to Ben Cayetano. He accepted it, said he already has done much in his first term, will do more in the second to set Hawaii on a stronger economic course.
Fear -- Many voters accepted the need for change, but feared its price.
Comfort -- Cayetano looked both gubernatorial and local in his joint appearances with Linda Lingle. Even if she may have won on debating points, he looked like he could be a more comfortable agent of change.
Frequently voters commented that Cayetano could be tougher in his second term than in his first because he won't have to curry favor for re-election. He has added to this by saying he won't seek any other office either. He will retire from elective politics after 2002.
His commitment to change is not to be doubted. He accomplished a significant number of things his Economic Revitalization Task Force suggested. Most notable are a tourism authority with an assured and much larger budget, so that it won' have to go hat-in-hand to the Legislature each year,and much more autonomy for the University of Hawaii to manage its own affairs.
We don't need any studies to tell us what else needs to be done. We pretty much know what's right. The challenge is to do what's right.
On State Employment -- Continue reduction through attrition. Recapture management rights from the government unions either at the bargaining table or by legislation, or both.
On Privatization -- Expand it along the lines recommended by the county mayors, which means going well beyond what has been approved already. We shouldn't rely only on government. We need a stronger private sector.
On Government Financial Practices -- Open them up. Make them transparent so the public will know -- department by department -- what the goals and budgets are and can measure achievement. Require clear statements of goals at the beginning of a budget period, clear measures of accomplishment at the end.
On Government Red Tape -- Hack away at it. Narrow the scope of the state Land Use Commission to broad statewide objectives. Return other authority to home rule at the county level. Focus more on accomplishment in all areas of the community, less on process.
On Schools -- Back the new superintendent and Board of Education in setting performance standards and holding individuals accountable for achieving them. Raise the quality of public education to well above what it is now. We do 9,000 graduates a year a horrible disservice by sending them out into the world undereducated and neither challenged nor educated to the maximum of their capabilities.
On Hawaii's World Image -- It may have been dirty pool for Forbes magazine to call us the People's Republic of Hawaii, but we are not highly regarded despite our potential to be a center for significantly more business and educational effort in the Pacific. We need to build more than tourism to bring the economy back to vitality. We can gain pride and synergy by building strengths in other areas, too.
I hope the Republican Party, such as it is, will be a loyal opposition as government deals with these matters, supportive as much as it can be, never trying to simply throw monkey wrenches into the machinery. Leaders of government unions must help persuade their members that a healthy community is vital to their long-term well-being -- even if it means a few give-backs on their part. A rising tide raises all boats.
In his first term Governor Cayetano helped make Hawaii a better place than he found it. But there is so much more to do. We must all help him achieve even more in his second term.
A.A. Smyser is the contributing editor
and former editor of the the Star-Bulletin
His column runs Tuesday and Thursday.