Founders of a new political party are hoping to turn voter angst into action at the ballot box this year on a range of issues from homelessness to Hawaiian sovereignty.
But before the Aloha Aina Party can field candidates, organizers need to make the group official, which means gathering 707 signatures from registered voters by Feb. 25.
East Hawaii residents Desmon Haumea and Pua Ishibashi, who formed the organization along with fellow Royal Order of Kamehameha member Donald Kaulia of Oahu, say that remains a work in progress, but they are hopeful voters looking for another option will get them recognized and on the ballot.
“Plenny people are where we are at,” said Ishibashi, a business owner and land manager for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs in Keaukaha. “They believe the same.”
While rooted in Hawaiian culture and history, the founders say the party is meant for everyone and is not limited to Hawaiian issues, though it would be the only party in the state with ho‘oponopono, or the process of making right, in regard to the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, listed as a founding principle.
Other principles include Aloha ke Akua, Aloha Kanaka, Aloha Aina and government accountability.
“Right now, we still have the kingdom,” said Kaulia, a descendent of James Kaulia, an organizer of the Ku‘e petitions that protested annexation by the United States. “But our focus of the Aloha Aina Party is not that.”
He said he got involved because voters need an alternative in a state heavily dominated by the Democratic Party, noting his platform as a state Senate candidate on Oahu will be improving infrastructure.
Haumea, a musician and teacher, said he joined because he wants to improve the quality of life for Hawaii residents and make government more transparent.
“Maybe this is just another voyage we can go on to help or assist the change that’s been happening to us, especially in Hawaii,” he said.
“With our limited resources, our lack of caring for the land and its people … I felt this is a really good opportunity, based on our platform of unification and ho‘oponopono.”
For Ishibashi, restoring Hawaiian sovereignty is a priority, though how the party would address that while working within the state’s political process hasn’t been spelled out.
“Where I’m coming from is more of a sense of justice,” he said. “I believe what happened to the kingdom and the people was wrong.”
While both Ishibashi and Haumea said the party is pro-independence, they say they are careful not to put the hui “in a box.”
“We’re not going to put that at the top of the Aloha Aina Party … but it’s definitely there; we’re not hiding it,” Ishibashi said, adding a committee may be formed within the party to address the issue of sovereignty.
One of the challenges they have come across is convincing Hawaiians who also object to the U.S. annexation of Hawaii to participate in the political process.
Haumea said their message to them is it’s better to have a voice and, whether or not the person intends to vote, they should at least help get them recognized as a party.
“This is just another canoe we can get on to achieve what we’re all fighting for,” he said.
Ishibashi, who signed up to Na‘i Aupuni as a pro-sovereignty delegate, said bringing other sovereignty supporters into the party will take education.
“Hawaiians are very political, always have been,” he said. “And, if there’s a tool, if there’s a hammer that can bust down that door or build a house, we don’t care if that hammer is made in Taiwan, or if this is one Maori hammer or this is one American hammer that we were just clubbed on the head with not too long ago. We take that tool and use it for our benefit.”
But with the events on Mauna Kea, where Hawaiian protesters have halted construction of a large telescope, and ongoing discussions regarding nation building, they think the time is right to give such party a chance.
“I think Mauna Kea has been a trigger point for us as well, because we realize the heightened consciousness of Hawaiians to embrace their rights, to be mobilized and to be advocates,” Ishibashi said. “So, we’re hoping the timing is such that, we’re bringing out a new political party for everybody, but hopefully the Hawaiians will get on board because they will see the benefit of what the party can bring to them.”
For more information, visit www.alohaainaparty.com or call 430-2714.
Email Tom Callis at tcallis@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
