David Shapiro: When diving in the Capitol trash, look out for weasels

I strongly favored Senate Bill 1543 in this year’s Legislature for publicly funded elections in Hawaii. It’s the best way to level out one-sided elections that leave incumbent Democrats so larded with special-interest money that they’re virtually untouchable.

SB 1543 gave qualified challengers a fighting chance to compete, and this seemed to be the year; the jailing of Sen. J. Kalani English and Rep. Ty Cullen shocked legislators into at least acting like they took corruption seriously.

Polls show 70% public support for publicly financed elections, and it was among the anti- corruption measures proposed by a House- appointed reform panel headed by Judge Daniel Foley.

SB 1543 sailed through the Senate with only one “no” vote and the House with only two “noes.”

But I never got my hopes up because my 50-plus years of watching the Legislature taught me one sure truth: Most Hawaii lawmakers lack the character to act against their self-interest, no matter how much it’s in the public interest.

I knew this bill would end with a dark death in conference committee — probably killed by Senate Ways and Means Chair Donovan Dela Cruz, who gets perverse pleasure playing the Big Bad Wolf.

That’s exactly what happened, but don’t be so fast to place blame at the feet of Dela Cruz alone.

There’s been great hand-wringing since about the inordinate power of committee chairs to kill bills, even when they have majority support.

It’s certainly a big problem in terms of transparent democracy and the rules must change, but don’t be so sure SB 1543 really had the support of the majority who nearly all voted for it.

They could signal virtue to their constituents by voting “yes” on a bill that could cost them their jobs because they knew they had Dela Cruz waiting to kill it in the end.

Those who voted for SB 1543 weren’t victims of Dela Cruz’s heavy hand; they were beneficiaries of his willingness to take the political heat on their behalf. That’s how legislators who enjoy dining on little pigs get leadership positions.

So blame them all for that bill dying. If it really had near-unanimous support, there were procedural means to force a floor vote. They could have moved to oust Dela Cruz, just as he engineered the removal of his predecessor, Jill Tokuda, over rail differences.

Instead we heard barely a peep of criticism of Dela Cruz because he did what they wanted despite their disingenuous earlier votes.

Legislators are taking bows for passing other Foley Commission measures, and these are good bills.

But the three arguably most popular with the public and most threatening to the easy reelection of incumbents — public financing, term limits and banning fundraising during session — were killed by committee chairs without members having to face the heat of a final vote.

House Judiciary Chair David Tarnas unilaterally killed term limits without a committee vote and Senate Judiciary Chair Karl Rhoads killed the session fundraising ban.

At least Rhoads was honest enough to admit he did it to protect incumbents.

Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com.