 This is Think Tech Hawaii, Community Matters here. Aloha, I'm Marcia Joyner and we are navigating the journey. Navigating the journey is dedicated to exploring the options and choices for the end of life care and to assist people to talk about their wishes. And as you know, for the last 60 weeks we have been talking about the end of life and about the bill before the legislature to allow people to choose how they want to end their lives. And at last, after almost 20 years of trying to get this bill passed before the Hawaii State Legislature, finally, finally, the bill was heard. I think there was 16 or 1700 written testimonies, five hours of testimony, and we think we're almost certain that it's going to pass at last. And so for those of you that have been with us all of this time, we do want to thank you for taking the time to write, to email, to call your legislators like we've been asking you to do for the last 60 weeks. And so the yellow lay are for you because that has been our symbol and that's what we showed up yesterday at the hearing with the yellow lay. So the yellow lay are for you, those of you that have supported us, that have been with us through this whole thing. And I say, thank you Aloha Pumejana. So today we are going to shift gears. We're going to talk to Donald Kelper, who is a dear, dear friend. He has been with us through all of these years of what, 16, 17, I don't know how many years, longer than that, longer than that. But Donald is the regional, region one chair of the Democratic, Oahu County Democratic Party. And as such, that's a big job. So we are going to talk to him because I have to tell you that yesterday at the hearing, the Democrats showed up. They really showed up. There were very few of them older than me, but they were there. And the young Democrats, the Democrats from the Big Island, the Democrats from Maui, they were there. And of course the other side was, you damn Democrats, but nonetheless they were there. So the Democratic Party, let me give you just a little bit of history. The Democratic Party and the Republican Party were both here in Hawaii at the time of the overthrow. In fact, the Republican Party was part of the overthrow of the monarchy. They were basically, they were known under names, under other names. The parties themselves did not establish themselves until after the annexation in 1898. In 1900 they became the organic act. They became legal. So but the Democratic Party was kind of nothing for 50 years. And it was at the time of, at the end of World War II with the AJAs, the unions, and those people that came back from the war and said, we are not going to put up with this any longer. Big Five has run things long enough and they came together to create the modern day Democratic Party. Now there were rumblings in the islands beforehand. The first cracks that we saw in the white oligarchy back in the territorial days following the annexation occurred in 1932, which was the year of the really, probably the seminal event in pre-World War II Hawaii was the Massey affair in which a Navy wife, officer's wife who was also coincidentally the daughter of the heir to the Bell Telephone Fortune, accused five local boys of gang rape, kidnapping and gang rape. And to be fair, what we know now is that there was never any evidence that they were involved in any kidnapping and gang rape. What we do know is that Thalia Massey, who was the complainant in this case, she was 20 years old, the Navy officer's wife. She had been beaten up and beaten rather badly. Her jaw was broken. They don't know by who. Several detectives on the whole police department back then surmised later that they thought that she had been having an affair and had been beaten up by her lover and maybe to cover up the fact that here she was, she had to explain to her husband why she had been beaten up, that she concocted this story and once her husband called the police she was forced to stick with it. But once she concocted this story and told this to her, it set in motion a cascade of events that ultimately ended in tragedy because Thalia's mother, the heiress of the bell telephone fortune, Grace Fortescue came out to the islands and after the first, what they called the Alamoana rape trial, which was Alamoana was the area where the shopping center is now, but back then it was undeveloped and that was where she claimed that she had been sexually assaulted by these five young men who were all between the ages of 20 and 24. The trial ended in a hung jury. Her story was unsustainable and she broke on the witness stand and she kept changing her story and so the jury pretty much voted to not convict and while they were awaiting scheduling for the second trial, one of the defendants, Joseph Kauhavai, native Hawaiian, 20 years old, was kidnapped by Grace Fortescue and Thalia Massey's husband, Lieutenant Thomas Massey, and two Navy sailors who Lieutenant Massey had gotten to go along with their scheme. He was taken up to Grace Fortescue's house in Manoa that she had rented while she was in the islands and they were going to basically get him to confess, well in the course of whatever they were doing, Kauhavai was shot and killed and they decided that they needed to dispose of the body and in the midst of driving out to the blowhole out east Honolulu in our area to dispose of the body, they were caught by the police. They were caught on that road on the ridge by Hanama Bay, which is still there. This became one of the great show trials, the second trial was the murder trial, it became one of the great show trials in American legal history, was the last case in which Clarence Darrow served as defense counsel and he had been retained by Grace Fortescue and Lieutenant Massey and she could afford it, but what happened was they were convicted. Of Kauhavai's death, but the territorial governor at the time Lawrence Judd commuted the sentence to one hour time served in his office. Now he was under pressure because back then the governors were appointed by the president and they were not popularly elected like they are today. The president wanted him to pardon them, to his credit he did not so the convictions stood and stayed with them for the rest of their lives, they were convicted felons, but they were let go. What it had in terms of the Democratic Party is that this was the first crack in the veneer of the white oligarchy because initially a lot of Howley rallied around the Massey's. But then when her story started falling apart it split that community, especially with the Navy, and this is where you started first the time when you started hearing the terms local and Howley as a differential in society and even the term local Howley, which implied that there were the Howleys who stuck with the, you know, so what this was is in the aftermath of this the territory made moves to try and suppress the story as best they could and they couldn't because it had gotten so much press on there. The backlash politically to the white oligarchy, mostly Republican, started occurring on there. There were three city councilmen who were defeated in re-election and one of the new council members was William Pittman, who was a defense attorney for one of the five boys, the people they called the Alamo Wanna Five in the first trial, but they ran as Democrats and they were elected as Democrats and the lead attorney in the defense, the first trial, the Alamo Wanna Rape trial, was Judge William Heen, who was the uncle of, you know, the Jugi, and Ernest Heen, the late state representative and longtime Democratic Party stalwart, but he was a Democrat, he was also a state senator at the time and he was very well respected, but this was the first rumblings of the Democratic Party back then. Yep, and the mayor, okay, Wilson was a Democrat. Yeah, he was a Democrat, but at the time of this trial, the mayor was Crane, I think Joseph Crane. You know, there was a lot of discontent under the oligarchy because this oligarchy was, it was a racist oligarchy. The Massey affair showed racism in all its ugly colors on there, no pun intended, but they were, and it, people saw that they needed to start organizing and at that time there was a police captain, John Burns, who was a Democrat and who took it upon himself to start organizing. That was in the 30s. Yeah, that was in the 30s. It really took off, like what you said, after World War II, when a lot of the AJAs from the 100th Battalion and 442nd came home, then the organization really got going on there. When they came back and said they couldn't do this, and they couldn't do this. It was silly, it was silly the idea that people were going to come back and put up with business as usual after undergoing such a major, you know, this is even nationwide. It wasn't just Hawaii, it was the idea that women were supposed to just go back to the home after working, being the breadwinners while their husbands were serving overseas. You know, you have to remember at the time, this country was only about 130 million people, well over 300 million today, but there was 130 million people, of which 20 million were in the military. So the idea that people were going to come back and just put up with business as usual, that wasn't going to happen. And so this is where you started seeing... Like the 442nd and the Central Pacific Bank that they created the bank. Well, they couldn't get, I mean, AJA's, you know, Japanese-Americans couldn't get loans. Couldn't get... I mean, this is just the way things were. I mean, I'm an historian and I look at it to me as like, you know, we have to be truthful about our history, it does no good, it doesn't do us any good to just gloss things over. We need to confront things. Well, we need to take a break. Okay. We'll come back and let's confront things. Okay? We'll talk about, yeah, about what we're looking at now. Yes. Okay. Great. Thank you. This is Think Tech Hawaii, raising public awareness. Aloha. Welcome to Hawaii. This is Prince Dykes, your host of The Prince of Investing, coming to you guys each and every Tuesday at 11 a.m., right here on Think Tech Hawaii. Don't forget to come by and check out some of the great information on stocks, investings, your money, all the other great stuff. And I'll be your host. See you Tuesday. Aloha. And we're back. And we are talking story with our local historian, my friend, Democrat, Democrat, what can we call you? And anyway, let's keep going. He's telling us such wonderful stories. Let's, we, we are up to- You could call me where I was, you know, when I first got into the party 30 years ago- Has it been that long? And then it's been, oh yeah, it was Sandy Beach days. Yes. Sandy Beach Coalition days. Oh my God. It was 1980 something. Yeah. 1988. And I was in my 20s at the time. And, and you know, most of us, you know, like others like John Bickle and others, we were all, you know, we got in there and, and the funny thing is like we got in there and we were going to like, we weren't going to put up with business as usual. We were going to stick it to the old guard. Well, 30 years later, I look at it like, you know what? We are the old guard now. You know, we see a new generation of activists and young people coming up, which I find just very, it's encouraging. It is. And, and I think, you know, they deserve our support. Yeah. What I saw yesterday at the hearing were the young ones that I, like you, my first party with the Democratic Party in East Honolulu was 1982. My party card says 1972. Can't believe it's been there. Anyway, I was thrilled watching these youngsters, the millennials walk up to the podium and take a stand. It was, it was so heartwarming to see them. And, and I hope, and this is where you come in, that this energy is directed to local issues. I know that they are upset with Trump as everybody is, but we want that energy to look at our legislature. Last, we've talked about this, our last election of the 51 House members 30 ran unopposed. That's unacceptable, even if they are Democrats. That's unacceptable. It's just, you know, now I would, I would argue, I've had this posed to me before on radio shows where they're saying, well, about the Republicans as though it was our fault that the Republicans don't run candidates. And I said, well, you know, you need to talk to them, you know, there's a reason why they are unpopular. Trump makes a great rallying cry for people, but people also need to remember that you can think globally, but you have to act locally. We have issues over here that, that, you know, I guess, if I have to do with anything here is that I encourage people, and I've been working hard over the last few years in my position with the party to encourage civic engagement, or in some people's cases, re-engagement, getting them back in there. There are too many people who have felt that they've been, they've been alienated and felt disconnected. But at the same time, you know, in order to accomplish anything, you know, change, you know, it's, it's like, if you want to see change, you have to embody the change yourself in your own actions, and that requires engagement. You know, you have to, you have to be part of what you're seeking, and you have to live it. I'm not saying that people need to be engaged to the extent that maybe you are, you know, which some people would find unhealthy, but you know, it's, but people need to be aware of what's going on. People need to make the effort to find out what's going on. Sorry to say with a lot of our local media, you look at TV, you'll even look at now yesterday, you had a lot of coverage, because, you know, the, the, the bill that you were talking about is what I call, and I mean no disrespect to, to the, to the proponents of the bill, a colorful issue. And the media out here covers colorful issues, but other people may also need to realize at the same time that that bill was up before the house, how many other hearings were held in that building that day, and how many bills were up for discussion that day. I mean, but you look at the media and you would think that was the only, that was the only item on the table, and that does a disservice to both the legislature, because the legislature, you know, I know some people like to think otherwise, but the legislature can walk and chew gum at the same time. They can, they are capable of handling multiple issues, but people need to realize that there are other issues, other issues that are important, that they care about, they need to engage. There were 20, almost 3,000 bills presented before the legislature, and 71 legislators. That is, 76 actually. 76, okay, yeah, 76. 25 plus, 76. Okay. Let's get the 25 senators and 51 house members. Now, so to think that they can read 3,000 bills. You can't. You can't. I work, I work for House leadership, as a lot of people know, I work for Speaker Calvin Say, and then Majority Leader Marcus Oshiro, and worked for them for years. And I read every single bill that came up for third and final reading, as we all did in these offices, because we had that, but to think that you're going to read 3,000 bills in a short period of time on that, especially when they're introduced, you depend on one another, you depend on the committee system to help other members, their colleagues, and senior staff understand what's in these other bills, and that's why we have a committee system, because otherwise, each person, you know, it's physically impossible to read all that in a short period of time, however well meaning you are. So let's go back to engagement. Okay. Okay. That's where the public comes in, because you know they can't read that. So what we have done for those people that were wedded to medical aid and dying, 60 weeks hammering it away, 60 weeks of having people to write to each other, to lobby each other, to make sure that these, their legislators understand, because we know they can't read these bills, we know. You have to, you know, part of this is education, and part of this is educating yourself about the issue, as well as educating other people, including legislators. Yes. You know, most legislators, if they're truly worthy of their title, will admit that they don't know everything, and a lot of them are open-minded and are willing to listen to people. What I urge people to do with regards to getting involved is like what happened yesterday is that pick your issue, whatever issue it is, you know, it could be aquarium fish, it could be education, pick your issue, educate yourself in it, build up a sense of expertise within yourself on a particular issue. So you can go in there and you can discuss it with some authority on there. So you actually sound like you know what you're talking about. And I think it, you know, that is the hallmark of engagement. You don't need to be an expert on everything, you know, but learn to network with other people, and that's where the party comes in. As a party provides a medium in which a lot of us who have a lot of different issues, a lot of different interests and everything, we can interact with one another and share ideas with one another, argue with one another as we often do, but yet, you know, but that's part of the hallmark of democracy is that, you know, we should not be engaged of robust discussions. Some people call them argument, I prefer to call them robust discussions. As long as you're respectful, and as long as, you know, and understand that you can be, you can disagree without being disagreeable. Now, if somebody's watching and says, well, okay, that sounds like something I need to do because I've got an issue that I want to move. Tell us on March 7th. Is that correct? March 7th. There will be Democratic Party caucus meetings. Yeah. So explain what that is and who can come. Our precinct meetings. Precinct meetings. Yeah. What we are is we encourage people to come to participate. You have to be a member of the Democratic Party, but you can join that night. Yes. You know, you just sign a party card and just fill out the pertinent information, you know, hand over your firstborn child. No, not really. But what you do is just fill out the party card and you can engage in this. In this, you know, in presidential years, as we've seen, you know, this is what we have our presidential preference poll, which has brought out a lot of people. What I would like to see more people come out and off your stuff because there's a lot of times we have a lot of people who are out there, you know, and every four years they show up looking for a messiah. Well, there are no messiahs in politics, as you and I know. What we do have is a lot of good and earnest people who are trying their best. But I would like to encourage these other people to like come in and engage and be part of your community. Yes. Take an active role here. You know, we will be electing delegates to the state convention. Be a delegate to the state convention if you can. This year it's being held at the White in Waikaloa on the Big Island. So the last 30 years it's been held in Honolulu. Oh, yeah. But, you know, this year they decided to move it over to the Big Island. But we're encouraging people to be part of this because this is where the discussions, you know, within the party and decision making comes in and be part of that decision making. Because that's really where it begins. Once you get to November it's either or. Yeah. So if you start next Tuesday you can begin the process. It's at the ground level. Yes. It's at the really the true grassroots level. There are 51 districts in the state of Hawaii. Yeah. And each district. Yeah, it corresponds to the house district. Yes. And each district has, what, five or six precincts. Yeah. And if you. Well, ours has four. Four. Remember, we've lost a few. We're East Honolulu. Yeah. And some crazy person. Anyway, we get to change that in 2020. Yeah. Again, you need to be a part of that process. Anyway, take a look. You can go to the. HawaiiDemocrats.org is our website. Our website. You can go to the register online, become a member of the party. But the thing is, is that find out where where your meetings are being held. There is one in our area. It's going to be held at Kalani High School. Region 1, just for clarification, I'm the chair of Region 1. That encompasses District 17, 18 and 19, all of East Honolulu. District 17 and 18 will be meeting at Kalani High School. District 19 will be meeting at I believe Waikiki Elementary School on the slopes of Diamond Head. Because that district wraps around Diamond Head. You know, we encourage people to find out wherever you are on the island or wherever you are in the state of Hawaii, that you find out where the meetings for your particular precinct are being held. On the big island, some precincts will have their own venue because the precincts are so spread out. So spread out, yes. On Oahu, especially in Honolulu, they're concentrated. So, you know, our district is relatively compact, but we have a lot of people in it. But take a look. Go look. It's all there. Take a look. You can go to the office of elections, shows all the precinct maps. The party shows them all. Well, there's a list on the party on the party website. We'll tell you exactly. Find out what precinct you're in, what district and precinct you're in, and then look on the on the Democratic Party website. It'll tell you where to go on Wednesday, March 7th at 7 p.m. These things start promptly at 7 p.m. It's an organizational thing. We'll be electing new party officers for the district and choosing as I said, state convention delegates. This is an opportunity for people who have never been involved before to come down, get involved, meet others like minded people, you know, who care about their community and desire to have a positive benefit. And one last thing before we go. If you're unhappy with the legislature, remember that most of them got elected with a low turnout. And in order to change that, you have to be involved. You have to get at the ground level to see that there is a large turnout. Low turnout keeps exactly, keeps the status quo. Well, a lot of it is, you know, at the risk of sounding politically incorrect. It was the director Woody Allen, who is his famous quip was like, you know, 90% of success in this life is simply showing up. You have to show up. You know, it's not enough to complain. We you've got to show up. So with that, we are going to say thank you so much. Thank you for having me. It's always a pleasure to visit with you anytime. And Aloha. We'll see you Wednesday next week. Aloha. Aloha.