Kate Stanley has never been more than a stone’s throw from Hawaii politics, even if it’s been decades since her own last election.
The hat she now wears — succeeding Lloyd Nekoba as senior adviser in the administration of Gov. Neil Abercrombie — is only the latest one.
The New York-born Stanley, 68, served 10 years in the Capitol, starting with her election in 1974, the same year that brought Abercrombie to the state House. She was the first female majority floor leader and later chaired the House Judiciary Committee.
When she exited the grind of campaigns and lawmaking, she segued into work as legislative coordinator for Gov. John Waihee and deputy director of the Department of Human Services under Gov. Ben Cayetano. Even in her family life, the hurlyburly of public affairs and controversy was never far away: Her husband of the last 20 years is Wallace Weatherwax, the embattled former administrator of the city Liquor Commission.
More recently, she was an adviser to the former schools superintendent, Pat Hamamoto, and is finishing up her overlapping duties heading a legislative commission overseeing the spending of stimulus funds, under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
It’s almost as if she can’t help herself, Stanley admits, ever since arriving in Hawaii as a VISTA volunteer some 40 years ago.
"I was interested in political activity to bring about change. And I was committed to anti-poverty efforts," she said. "My heart has sort of been there since 1967 and hasn’t really moved.
"I think sometimes there are problems within government and how it functions," she added. "But I would not want to live in a society that didn’t have a strong government that protected the rights of the disabled, the poor, children, and allowed for public participation in an organized manner, with rules that people can follow and understand."
QUESTION: Has the Legislature changed since you were there?
ANSWER: Sometimes I think it’s different, and then sometimes I think it’s not that different at all.
The institution and their mission or their role in government is the same: It’s to consider laws and to pass them, and to deal with the state budget. The governor proposes, and they dispose.
So the actors have changed. In some ways the process, the rules regarding the process, have changed somewhat. But it’s still the ability of a group of people to reach consensus on a particular problem.
I think it’s more open in the sense that they have clearer rules about notification for hearings. And because of the ability to put things online, there’s a lot more accessibility to information for everybody. And that’s to the good, because when I started, the new invention was the mag card machine, those electronic things they would type the bills on, and the committee reports. And then we used to sign committee reports; now they have voting sheets.
Q: Has the power structure changed, do you think? Less centralized?
A: I just finished reading Ben’s biography (former Gov. Ben Cayetano). There were really some big divisions and fights. Pretty strong words and feelings about issues and how people were doing things. … The dynamics of people working together, that is still hard, and it was hard in ’75.
Q: You had multi-member districts then, which courts since have blocked. Did they have advantages?
A: A wider variety of people. And people would mix their votes, and people would actually vote for people who were newcomers. … Like in Manoa, where the governor was running, they often voted for a Republican. Hiram Fong Jr. used to be there. So they would split their tickets. You had a real mix.
Q: How would you describe your time at Department of Human Services?
A: It was tough, but I enjoyed that department. The people that work at DHS are very dedicated human beings, to the welfare of their clients and the community, so it was a joy to work with them. … Death of children and all that, it’s very heart-rending, and there’s a sense that these things shouldn’t happen. They shouldn’t happen, but we are all human beings, and tragedies happen. It’s not an excuse, but you have to recognize that there is no ability of the state to have a 100 percent guarantee. … We have people who are very cruel to their children, and the agency will tell you they don’t have enough people to be foster parents. There are just huge challenges.
Q: What is the governor expecting of you in your new position?
A: A lot of work has to be done with the legislators, if you need to have specific proposals when you work on the budget. So he asked me if I wouldn’t come and help him with that aspect of the governor’s office operation. So I said I would, but my commitment is through next June and then reevaluate. …
My job is communication and interfacing. The governor says I’m a membrane between him and his Cabinet and the Legislature.
Q: So your job is to explain, convey, try and persuade, even?
A: Yeah. Convince, win over, communicate. And the other way, too. I have a responsibility to listen to them and explain to the governor, his staff and the Cabinet what the legislators are saying, what their concerns are.
When I used to work for (former schools Superintendent) Pat Hamamoto, she used to say, "Oooh, I’m bringing Kate, because she’s my translator." (Laughs.) Having been a legislator and having worked with them so long, I kind of know how they think. And when you work with department people and administration people, they know a great number of details, but sometimes it’s hard to articulate the broader description, or the framework.
So you’ve got somebody who knows a lot of details talking to somebody who’s more of a generalist, so you need a way to get them to understand each other.
Q: Failing that?
A: Things happen. They don’t understand each other. And the other thing: It’s very important for the administration to be able to explain to legislators what it takes to implement the law and make things work. Writing the law, as difficult as it is — implementing is equally difficult. It’s sort of a skill I’ve learned over the years. It’s sort of like, "OK, they said this; this is what they mean and what they’re dealing with." Now you want this policy, so you gotta ask them, can they do your policy, and how? And make sure you’re both understanding the expectations.
Q: But in Hawaii, isn’t that communicating almost always with Democrats?
A: Though I’ve worked with (Reps.) Gene Ward and Aaron Johanson and Lynn Finnegan when she was there. And Sam Slom, he’s my senator. So I’ve known Republicans for a long time, too. And Barbara Marumoto, I’ve known for a long time, too. …
I don’t ever remember a Legislature that had a lot of Republicans. In 2002, there was a large number in the House, when Galen Fox was the minority leader. And they had enough to have some parliamentary maneuvers that could delay action. And then actually, when the governor and I were elected in ’74, there were still a number of Republicans. It had gone down, but I think there were 17.
I remember when they did the seating arrangement for ’75, they had Rep. Abercrombie sit on the Republican side of the aisle. (Laughs.) He was like the first one over on that side. Ever since, there’s more Democrats on the right-hand side than there used to be.
Q: Couldn’t this state do with more political diversity?
A: There’s a lot of diversity within the Democratic party. It’s a big tent, but there’s a lot of diversity. …
I like living in Hawaii, I’m glad I don’t live in Washington, D.C. It’s too ugly for my taste. People in Hawaii, there’s still a lot of aloha, people treat each other well. They treat each other well at the Legislature.
Q: Following your experience with the stimulus oversight committee, how do you answer critics who say it was ineffective?
A: The first stimulus package prevented serious problems within all state governments. All this stuff we’re hearing about the problems states are having now is because the first stimulus ended. They’re firing teachers all over. The stimulus funds allowed other states, and the state of Hawaii, not to have to fire people in 2010 and 2009.
Q: Didn’t it just delay the inevitable, then?
A: The hope at that time was that we would have had enough of an economic recovery and there would have been additional state revenues. But the economy has stalled; hence, we need this jobs bill. Some of the provisions are to provide funds for first responders and retaining teachers. And those are the cost items, as we can hear in all the news reports, that the states and municipalities on the mainland are really struggling with.
Hawaii’s been more fortunate. We’re not booming, but we’re not in the fiscal straits other states are.
Q: Wasn’t the ARRA program here criticized because the spending was spread out rather than used for more immediate projects?
A: Second guessing’s easy. So I don’t know whether some of those decisions would have been different. But those projects that are now spending ARRA funds toward the end of their grant period, they still do add to our economy. I think there’s some highway projects on Kauai that are about to get under way that are still using ARRA funds.
Q: So you think it was fortunate that we stretched it out?
A: Yeah. I think we used the money to smooth things out. It seems to have worked OK. We were able to recover enough that this "cliff effect" that other states are facing isn’t so severe.
Look at the trouble with Wisconsin, Ohio. We’re very fortunate in Hawaii that somehow people find a way to come to solutions that aren’t so horrendous and don’t seem to polarize people quite as much. Though I don’t know if the teachers would agree with me. They feel pretty badly right now.
Q: What do you see as your primary goal in the coming months?
A: I think what the governor’s good at, and what I can help him most with, is just have to keep talking with everybody and talking to as many people as you can, and working with legislators and working with interest groups, and keep looking for the common solutions.
Now, sometimes people think then you don’t get a very bold solution when it’s so common, because everyone can agree to it. But sometimes those are the things that work best. …
One of the things I really appreciate about Gov. Abercrombie is his passion and commitment to the people of Hawaii. It really comes across. I just really enjoy that and feel committed to that. I’ve spent my life in public service, so I share that commitment.
