Subject: Alert-Hawaii Veto Demand Comes From Questionable Group and Motives
From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 12 Jun 1997 15:42:55 -0400 (EDT)

Aloha Folks,

This is an update on the group referred to as the Hawaii Business Health
Council that recently wrote a letter to Governor Benjamin Cayetano demanding
he veto the reciprocal beneficiaries bill that would give limited rights and
benefits to couples who could not marry.

The following is a copy of the text of a press release sent out by GLEA
Foundation regarding this group's membership, its hiding of who was a member,
and members pulling back on the position of this council.

Although not officially confirmed, officers of one of the businesses reported
to be a member of the group told GLEA Foundation - Gay Community News that he
could not establish that any meeting of council took place to even review the
issue or concerns raised in their demand for a veto letter.  He further
indicated that he believed that First Hawaiian Bank initiated the letter to
the council's president and Bank of Hawaii official Duane Feekin.  No one
else may have been involved in creating this letter.  He further stated that
he believed that First Hawaiian Bank wanted to use this approach to prevent
First Hawaiian Bank and its relationship with the Mormon church out of the
public view in challenging this bill.

Important here, if true, is that First Hawaiian Bank has an ongoing conflict
of interest in this issue in regards to its leadership Mr. Jack Hoag (former
FHB CEO and current Board member) being a major leader of the Mormon church
in Hawaii and founder/leader of Hawaii's Future Today (a primarily Mormon
developed anti-Gay marriage organization).  Legislators rerported Hoag used
his influence as First Hawaiian Bank's CEO in previous years to oppose
same-sex marriage on behalf of the church.

As a result of this information and a need to know how the veto demand came
about, I have formally requested a copy of the minutes of this group for all
of 1997 (time-period this bill was drafted and passed.  You can help by
requesting this information, too  - and by contacting the member businesses
to see if they have information about the date of the meeting(s), who
requested the letter, etc.

do good

Bill Woods, MPH
GLEA Foundation
Hawaii Gay Marriage Project

******

Press and Media Release    June 11, 1997			GLEA Foundation
										                 Contact:  Bill Woods
										                    (808) 537-2000

Why is Bank of Hawaii Hiding Members of Group they Used to Demand Governor
Cayetano Veto Reciprocal Beneficiaries Bill ??

Who are the members of this group - and what do think about the group's
demand to the Governor?

Why did ITT-Sheraton Pull out of the group because of their strong stance for
Civil Rights?

Why is Outrigger Hotels and Resorts not in support of position of the Group??

	The bold headline of June 4, 1997 Honolulu Advertiser stated: "Businesses
seek Veto of Benefits Bill."  A group calling itself the "Hawaii Business
Health Council" who's "president" is Bank of Hawaii's Director of Human
Resources, Duane Feekin gave statements to the media claiming 30 business
members of the council were behind the demand for a veto.  

	This article was one of a number of items carried by local newspapers, TV
and radio referring to this "health council.  But just who is this council?

	The Hawaii Gay Marriage Project of GLEA Foundation who has supported such
legislation thought it important that everyone know just who this council and
how they came to take this action when none of the business groups made any
statements on this measure when it was before the legislature.

	Texts of two letters to Bank of Hawaii Chairman Richard Dahl is provided at
end of this release.

	1.  The Hawaii Business Health Council was not listed with telephone
directory.
	2.  The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii had not heard of this group.
	3.  Small Business Hawaii (specifically Sam Slom) had never heard of this
group.
	4.  Reporter of article stated that she knew Mr. Feekin was with Bank of
Hawaii.
	5.  When I reached Mr. Feekin I asked for the mission statement of this
council and he state "it was to promote quality health care for all."
	6.  I requested a list of member businesses of the "Council" and he refused
to make it available to me.
	7.  I requested a copy of the letter to the Governor that he sent and was
referred to in the news and business articles.  He refused to give me that,
too.
	8. I requested to know if First Hawaiian Bank and/or Jack Hoag had anything
to do with the "Council."  He said he would make not comment on my question.

	9.  I then contacted Bank of Hawaii Chairman (his office) and made the
requests above except # 8 above.  I also asked for Bank of Hawaii to review
its participation in the council in the future and how they could justify
supporting the statement made by the group which was opposite of its stated
mission statement.  I followed this up with letter (text provided at end of
this release).  I have not received any response to these inquiries from Bank
of Hawaii or the so-called Council.
	10.  I requested a copy of the letter sent to the Governor from the
Governor's office, which I received shortly after the request.

	The following businesses were listed on the letterhead of this council's
letter to the Governor: GTE Hawaiian Tel, BHP Hawaii, Hawaii National Bank,
Hawaiian Tug & Barge, Corp., Hawaiian Electric Co,Ilikai Hotel, Hawaiian
Electric Industries, Inc., Liberty House, Liberty House, Hilton Hawaiian
Village, Hilton Hotels, Outrigger Hotels & Resorts, ITT Sheraton Hotels,
Pacific Guardian Life, Kamehameha Schools, Bishop Estate, Servco Pacific
Inc., Alexander & Baldwin, Theo H Davis & Co, Ltd., American Linen, Times
Super Market, Ltd., American Savings Bank, Young Brothers, Ltd., American
International, AMFAC/JMB Hawaii Inc., Bank of America, Bank of Hawaii, C
Brewer & Co, Ltd, Castle & Cooke, City Bank, International Savings and Loan,
Crazy Shirts, Inc., Duty Free Shoppers Ltd, The Estate of James Campbell, and
First Hawaiian Bank.

	We are now in the process of checking with each member name on this
council's letterhead to see if they know about their membership on this
council, its mission statement, and their concurrence with the demand for a
veto on the legislation made with the support of their business.  Having
contacted two entities we have gotten two businesses in direct opposition to
the position stated by Mr. Feekin and the council.

This is what ITT-Sheraton wrote yesterday:
	" ITT Sheraton's Hawaii Region canceled its membership today, effective
immediately. 
		by Dolores M. Sanchez, Vice President, ITT Sheraton Corp. Director of Media
Relations.

This is what Outrigger Hotels wrote yesterday: 
	"I can assure you that I checked with our Chief Operating Officer and he
confirmed that we have taken no adverse position as a company on this issue.
 As a company that is actively seeking gay and lesbian customers, it would be
counter-productive for us to do so."  	by Bryan Klum of Outrigger Hotels

	Pretty good responses after contacting only two members so far!!

	What we would also like to know is why Bank of Hawaii and two of its highest
officer have helped hide the members who were behind the veto request:
particularly one business that is in major conflict of interest with their
one of their board members, Jack Hoag, who is on the board of First Hawaiian
Bank (former CEO), is major leader of the Mormon church in Hawaii, and
leader/founder of the Mormon group called Hawaii's Future Today an anti-Gay
marriage organization.

	Additionally, we have had informal conversations with other members who
believe that a meeting and official action never occurred to create this
position of the council.  One officer stated privately that he believed the
letter/action was contrived by First Hawaiian Bank to create a
business-oriented challenge to the law through some other entity than First
Hawaiian, itself.  This statement is further strengthened by the fact the
council president and Bank of Hawaii official Mr. Feekin and Bank of Hawaii
Chairman Richard Dahl refused to identify the member business to prevent
public scrutinization of this last minute attack.

	It is becoming clearer as we make more and more contact with the members of
this council that there was probably  a Mormon conspiracy within the First
Hawaiian Bank to get this measure killed in a forum outside the public
scrutiny of the legislative process.

	Are the other member businesses aware of the position of the council they
are members?  Are they aware that a conspiracy may be at hand?

	How many businesses by end of 6-12-97 will pull out of this council?

Texts of letter to Richard Dahl:

June 10, 1997

Mr. Richard Dahl
Chairman, Bank of Hawaii
FAX:  (808) 521-7602

Dear Mr. Dahl:

	It is now June the 10, 1997, six days since I contacted your office to
request information regarding Bank of Hawaii's participation in the so-called
"Hawaii Business Health Council," its mission statement, its letter to
Governor Cayetano requesting a veto of health-related benefits of employees
and their reciprocal beneficiaries, and a list of participating businesses in
this council.

	I have not heard a response to that request from you or anyone affiliated
with Bank of Hawaii.  

	I am surprised that you are in support of the hiding of organizational
relationships of your bank with other business institutions under the heading
"business health" to promote a veto of a bill that would extend quality
health care to a segment of Hawaii's citizenry,  complete opposition to the
mission statement.

	Bank of Hawaii executives presented numerous media interviews regarding this
demand for a veto without being willing to have your actions and the members'
actions scrutinized by the public and those in the legislative process.  I
believe this community finds your actions deplorable and unethical at a
minimum.

	Since there is no sense of decency to your actions other than going public
without public scrutiny of the member businesses it seems that your actions
are of the most deceptive type and unbefitting ethical business practices.
 This is additionally true of the other member businesses that we have since
identified and who are identified herein: GTE Hawaiian Tel, BHP Hawaii,
Hawaii National Bank, Hawaiian Tug & Barge, Corp., Hawaiian Electric Co.,
Hotel, Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc., Liberty House, Liberty
House,	Hilton Hawaiian Village - Hilton Hotels, Outrigger Hotels & Resorts,
ITT Sheraton Hotels, Pacific Guardian Life, Kamehameha Schools, Bishop
Estate, Servco Pacific Inc., Alexander & Baldwin, Theo H Davis & Co, Ltd.,
American Linen, Times Super Market, Ltd., American Savings Bank, Young
Brothers, Ltd., American International, AMFAC/JMB Hawaii Inc., Bank of
America, Bank of Hawaii, C Brewer & Co, Ltd, Castle & Cooke, City Bank,
International Savings and Loan, Crazy Shirts, Inc., Duty Free Shoppers
Ltd,The Estate of James Campbell, and First Hawaiian Bank.

	Since my first contacting your office for the requested information,
including asking you to review Bank of Hawaii's position on the request for a
veto, I have individually contacted several of the legislators who were
involved with the legislation to find out that they had never heard of this
council.  And that when they met with several representatives of this council
that they were not made aware of the member businesses.  Since at least one
of these businesses has major a conflict of interest with its leadership and
leadership of the Mormon church and stated founder and leader of Hawaii's
Future Today, a major public antagonists of equal rights for Gay men and
women, it becomes important to all who are watching this legislation to know
that Bank of Hawaii help to hide that businesses involvement and surprising
last minute challenge to a measure that has been visible in this year's
legislative session since January.  Surprisingly none of these member
businesses had made any such challenges while it was within the legislature.

	At this point, I am now requesting copies of the minutes of the meetings of
the Hawaii Business Health Council during this past calendar year.  I believe
that the information contained in the actions and deliberations of this group
would be of great interest to the people of Hawaii and in particular to the
people who would lost the rights to quality health care that this group is
opposing.  I hope you will see the merit in forwarding copies of these
minutes to me at your earliest convenience.

				Sincerely,

				William E. Woods, MPH
				Executive Director

**

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