Democrats vote today on accepting Fukumoto

Leaders of Oahu’s Democratic Party are scheduled to vote today on whether to accept state Rep. Beth Fukumoto into their party. The legislator from Mililani parted ways with the Republican Party earlier this year amid mounting tension around her criticism of President Donald Trump.

Party members will discuss Fukumoto’s fitness to join the Democrats during a 10 a.m. meeting at the headquarters of the Hawaii Government Employees Association before 16 members of the Oahu county executive committee take a vote, according to Rich Halverson, who chairs the committee. Halverson said he will abstain from voting unless there’s a tie.

Fukumoto appears to have ingratiated herself with many members of the Democratic Party in recent weeks, but she still could face opposition from members who worry the party has become too inclusive, blurring its platform.

Fukumoto has a track record of taking progressive stances on issues relating to affordable housing and income inequality. She’s supported raising taxes on the wealthy and providing working families with more money back on their tax returns.

Those issues have gone over well with Democratic Party members, but she’s faced greater scrutiny on LGBT issues. Fukumoto voted against Hawaii’s gay marriage law in 2013.

On Thursday, Fukumoto spent more than an hour answering questions from members of the party’s LGBT caucus. She reiterated that she supports gay marriage, despite her 2013 vote, which she apologized for, according to a recording of the meeting. She also clarified that she did not support gay “conversion therapy,” which she called unscientific and psychologically damaging, and said she supported issues important to the transgender community.

LGBT caucus chairman Michael Golojuch said that the caucus was not taking a position on whether Fukumoto should be accepted into the party but suggested that many of his concerns about Fukumoto’s views were appeased.

“We had a wonderful conversation,” he said. “It was enlightening.”

Golojuch is not a member of the executive committee, but said that if he had a vote, he likely would support her acceptance into the party. He gave her credit for reaching out to the LGBT caucus, something he said other Republican lawmakers who switched parties had not done.

Fukumoto still could face opposition, particularly among members who became active in the party amid the rancor over Trump’s election. They’ve taken a harder line when it comes to the Democratic platform.

One Oahu party official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said some in the party are angry that Democrats are considering accepting Fukumoto.

The concern is that “people are talking about having a ‘big tent,’ but you make the tent so big that principles don’t make any difference anymore,” the official said.

However, Donald Koelper, East Honolulu region party chairman, who will have a vote today, said, “I met her, I’m impressed with her, I do appreciate her candor. Sometimes we don’t have enough of that.”

Koelper, like other committee members contacted by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, declined to say how he would vote today, but suggested that for him it wouldn’t come down to a litmus test on specific issues.

“I would hope that Democrats would realize even at this point … that we’re not going to agree with each other all the time, and we have to take that into account in making a decision like that,” he said. “I’m not going to allow one particular issue or one particular caucus to sway my vote unless it was an egregious circumstance.”

Star-Advertiser reporter Kevin Dayton contributed to this report.