A Visit From CHELSEA

Former first daughter makes rousing Maui visit for her mom, Hillary Clinton

By CLAUDINE SAN NICOLAS, Staff Writer
WAILUKU — Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton swayed her hips the best she could in a black dress and pumps as a crowd of Maui admirers cheered her on during a campaign stop Sunday in Wailuku.

“I’m sorry if I embarrassed you with my hula efforts,” the 27-year-old Clinton said during an hourlong visit at the “Maui No Ka Oi” rally for her mother, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton.

A crowd of about 300 people welcomed Chelsea Clinton with signs, cheering, applause and many lei at the David K. Trask Building on Kaohu Street.

“She looks exactly like you see her on TV,” said Elaine Slavinsky, a one-time local political candidate who described herself Sunday as an “observer” at the event.

“It’s just so encouraging to see all these signs,” Clinton told the crowd.

She was greeted on the street by the Maui All Star Cheerleaders, a team of girls 13 to 18 years old who performed a cheer. Another set of girls from Iola Balubar’s Halau Hula O Keola Alii O Ke Kai danced a hula for Clinton.

At the urging of former Mayor James “Kimo” Apana, the Hillary Clinton campaign coordinator for Maui, Chelsea Clinton briefly joined the hula dancers onstage.

“She’s cool,” said Emily Ferreira, a 9-year-old Haiku dancer.

Sixteen-year-old cheerleader Tabitha Asao of Kahului readily admitted she did not know about the issues of the presidential campaign. But she was impressed by Chelsea Clinton and was able to pose for a photo and get an autograph.

“It’s a good thing that she’s supporting her mom,” Asao said.

Clinton told the crowd in Wailuku she appreciated their support, and she encouraged them to vote in Tuesday’s Democratic caucuses.

She was accompanied to Maui by Hawaii Senate President Sen. Colleen Hanabusa as well as Maui’s three Democratic senators — Roz Baker of Lahaina, Shan Tsutsui of Wailuku and J. Kalani English of Hana.

“I think all of us are proud to stand by Hillary Clinton,” Baker said.

English and Tsutsui were at Clinton’s side when she tried her hand at hula.

“I like Chelsea,” said Lauren Akitake, a 26-year-old who came to the rally wearing a T-shirt supporting Hillary Clinton. “I love her mother.”

Akitake recalled seeing Sen. Clinton in the nation’s Capitol when she worked as an intern for U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye. “She was so put together; it was just amazing,” Akitake recalled Sunday.

“She seems to have wisdom in her eyes,” William Spanko, a Pukalani resident, said of Chelsea Clinton as he waited patiently in the background to get a photograph with his wife, Amanda, and 2¢-month-old baby, Valiant. The Spankos said they planned to register Tuesday as Democrats.

“She looks like a modest lady,” said attorney Antonio V. Ramil. He said many people including himself were impressed by Clinton.

“She represents the family, a daughter supporting her mother, and that’s important because family is important,” Ramil said.

In her address to the crowd, Hanabusa said she initially supported Hillary Clinton because of her policies and promises for change for the nation and in Hawaii.

“What sealed it for me was meeting Chelsea Clinton,” Hanabusa said. “She’s a very quiet, reserved young lady. . . . She is somebody who cares.”

The Hawaii presidential caucuses normally get very little attention, in part because of the comparatively small number of delegates and also because party nominees usually are settled by the time party preference polls are taken here.

But with the tight race between Clinton and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, who was born in Hawaii and graduated from Punahou School on Oahu, Hawaii’s delegates are being hotly contested.

Apana said he was “ecstatic” about Sunday’s turnout for Hillary Clinton.

He said he’s been campaigning for a long time and noticed that the majority of the people on Sunday were new.

“These are people I’ve never seen before,” he said. “It’s a good sign. It’s a healthy sign.”

Apana said he was pleased with how well Chelsea Clinton connected with the crowd. “She’s very upbeat and positive, and she’s good looking too,” he said.

Attorney Cornelia Soberano attended the Clinton rally, although she described herself as an Obama supporter.

“It’s quite a historic thing to see gender and race and all the possibilities,” said Soberano, a Canadian citizen who can’t vote but still is interested in the presidential race.

Lori Dodd of Waikapu had not made up her mind about who to support, but she brought her video camera and two youngest children, Kalei, 8, and Kanoe, 13, to see Chelsea Clinton.

Kalei gave a lei and hug to Chelsea Clinton. “She’s really great, and she’s cute,” Kalei said.

“She looks so much like her mom,” Dodd said, holding her camera steady as she focused on Clinton moving around the crowd.

Maui County Council Member Gladys Baisa called Clinton’s campaign “a moment in history.”

Baisa said that when she was younger, a woman president “was a hard thing to think about. . . . but not today.”



• Claudine San Nicolas can be reached at claudine@mauinews.com.