Slom hopes Hawaii’s GOP can tap into new generation

For two decades, if the question on the Senate floor was “Who doesn’t like this?” the first hand shooting up belonged to Sen. Sam Slom, who is now the only remaining Republican in the state Senate.

Slom closed out the 2016 legislative session with quadruple bypass surgery and is now slowly recovering, although grumbling that he has probably eaten his last cheeseburger.

“When I went into the hospital for tests, it turned out I had had a heart attack and all the arteries were blocked,” Slom said in an interview.

Slom, 74, is running for reelection to the Hawaii Kai Senate seat he has held since 1996 and facing opposition from Democrat Stanley Chang, a former City Councilman.

In the Senate, Slom, the former Bank of Hawaii chief economist, is usually the first to object to bills calling for tax increases, studies or the creation of special funds.

This is the weekend of the state GOP convention, and Slom said he hopes to attend, because he has some advice for the party.

“A political party is supposed to elect people to office and we have forgotten how to do that; instead we are focusing on the internal divisions,” Slom said, pointing to the fights between the party regulars and the more conservative and outspoken Hawaii Republican Assembly.

“We have seven Republicans in the House and it is a House divided three to four. We need to be much more effective,” Slom said.

Since he was a teenager, Slom has been a Republican; he now explains that “politically I have grown up over the years,” and is less willing to join every battle.

The wedge issues that the GOP either uses or have used against it, from abortion to gay rights, are not that important, Slom said.

“What we have to do is do a better job of connecting to the young; the millennial generation is the largest demographic age group and we have to do a better job of making our case to them,” Slom said.

The political surges by Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders and Republican Donald Trump spring from a dissatisfied voter base that does not connect with either Democrats or the GOP, said Slom.

“I don’t think the parties get it, especially the Republicans. The party has made a seismic shift and the voters are not going back. … Everyone fears change, but the change has already happened,” said Slom, who envisions GOP voters as becoming more critical of both parties and candidates.

Slom said he doesn’t know how the Trump candidacy will affect the local party. Slom didn’t support Trump in the primary, but said he will vote for whomever is the GOP nominee.

The formula that gives Hawaii Republicans an electable brand is what is eluding both Slom and his GOP brethren.

Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach him at rborreca@staradvertiser.com.