Looking back, it can be easy to forget that gay marriage was one of the most controversial issues of the 2000s.

贬补飞补颈驶颈 voters removed an amendment from the state constitution this past November that gave lawmakers the explicit power to outlaw gay marriage, a pleasant surprise to some who worried the question鈥檚 wording veered too technical. 

But public sentiment was far different almost 20 years ago. Opposition was much stronger, and many lawmakers worried that taking a position on such a polarizing issue could cost them politically. 

So when a bill to allow civil unions for same-sex couples reached House Judiciary Chair Tommy Waters in 2007, Speaker Calvin Say gave him advice: Don鈥檛 schedule a hearing. 

鈥淎re you looking for higher office?鈥� Say remembers asking Waters and other committee chairs who decided whether to hear controversial bills. 鈥淎re you looking to continue in public service?鈥� 

Waters killed the bill. 

It saved House members from having to take a stand on a politically toxic issue, at least for the time being. But in the aftermath, Waters faced heavy criticism for not holding a vote. He left public office the next term, returning six years later for an unsuccessful Honolulu City Council campaign before winning the next election in a close rematch.

Say said his questions towards Waters were meant as wisdom.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not a threat,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the truth.鈥�

He often shares politically cautious advice like this with younger colleagues, leaning on his decades of patient learning. 

Say was already the House鈥檚 senior member by the time he became speaker in 1999, and he remained in the House for another 21 years. When his council term ends Thursday, he will have been in elected office for almost three-quarters of 贬补飞补颈驶颈鈥檚 entire history as a state. Pivotal events both affected his career and were products of his own choices.

Say鈥檚 critics see him as emblematic of 贬补飞补颈驶颈鈥檚 鈥渙ld boy鈥� style of politics, where progress is slow and behind-the-scenes favors decide which bills live and die. 

His supporters don鈥檛 argue the facts. But they frame them differently, arguing that Say recognizes all politics is personal, and that he knew how to keep his fellow legislators happy.

鈥淗e was born and raised politically in a time when that old boys’ network was the strongest it鈥檚 been,鈥� U.S. Rep. Ed Case said. 鈥淚 think he worked with it. I think he understood it. But I don鈥檛 believe it鈥檚 correct to characterize him as part of the old boys’ network.鈥�

Path To Power

Say first won elected office when he was 24 years old in 1976, his second attempt. 

A part-time busboy at the Old West-themed restaurant Flamingo Chuckwagon on Kapi驶olani Boulevard, he and a few coworkers had gone out for drinks one night and egged each other on to run for office. 

鈥淭hey were upset that the incumbents did not campaign,鈥� he said. 

Those incumbents 鈥� part of the generation of Japanese-American World War II veterans who served on the 442nd Regimental Combat Team 鈥� were known to the parents of Say鈥檚 generation, but not as much to his peers.

His initial years were quiet. 

鈥淚 just wanted to learn,鈥� he said.

He worked his way up, chairing increasingly powerful committees: first the Culture and the Arts Committee, next the Tourism Committee and finally the Finance Committee in 1993.

It was a difficult time to be Finance chair. The country had just had a recession, and regrowth was slow because of fewer tourists, less foreign investment 鈥� especially from Japan 鈥� and a declining sugar industry. 

Finding money to balance the budget meant making tough decisions. One big pot of money Say came after was government pensions, earning the ire of public unions.

He also played tricks. 

Beyond writing laws 鈥� which can be too abstract for the average constituent to appreciate 鈥� legislators care deeply about getting money for visible infrastructure projects in their districts. 

During budget negotiations with the Senate, Say would make up projects in his own district of Palolo, St. Louis Heights and Kaimuk墨. Then 鈥� as a bargaining chip 鈥� he would offer to slash them from the budget.

Still, Say鈥檚 antics at the time were pedestrian compared to his mentor’s, Speaker Joe Souki.

Souki twisted arms, holding bills in committee as bargaining chips for lawmakers鈥� votes. By the end of the 1990s, many House members were dissatisfied with his leadership, especially after a controversial episode featuring the wealthy Bishop Estate.

As detailed by and later the book “Broken Trust,” financial mismanagement by trustees of the Bishop Estate 鈥� now known as Kamehameha Schools 鈥� led to outcry over how trustees were selected and their high compensation of almost $1 million per year.

Souki had defended the politically connected estate, leading to backlash from House members like then-state Rep. Ed Case who wanted to cap trustees鈥� compensations. 

A bill to do so failed by one vote at the end of the 1998 legislative session. But outcry continued, and two days later, the bill was revived and passed almost unanimously. (The single dissenting vote . Years later, he said in an interview that he believes the trustees鈥� investment performances justified their compensations.)

鈥淏y the end of that process,鈥� Case said, 鈥渕ost of the members of the House were ready to move on in leadership.鈥�

Constituents were also dissatisfied. 

Democrats had dominated the Legislature since statehood, occupying 45 out of 51 House seats following the 1990 elections. But as the decade wore on, frustrated voters chipped away at the Democrats鈥� supermajority, electing 19 Republicans to the House in the year 2000. Linda Lingle, a Republican, lost the gubernatorial election by less than 2 percentage points the election before.

This confluence of pressures 鈥� from members and from voters 鈥� gave Souki dissidents enough leverage to vote him out. But it begged a question: Who in the House had enough appeal from both dissidents and the Old Guard to replace Souki as speaker?

Speaker Say

鈥淐alvin was the natural choice,鈥� Case said.

As Finance chair, Say avoided feuds and ideological struggles. He was close enough to leadership that he knew how to run the House, but was generally well-liked and seen as a consensus candidate for speaker. 

Case was one of the first to pitch him for the position. Saiki, who later led a yearslong effort with now-Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke to overthrow Say, also lent his support. 

But their support was short-lived. Say is an incrementalist, and that frustrated lawmakers who wanted big reforms done quickly.

Civil service reform was a top issue at the time. Overtime was inflating pension calculations, merit-based advancement was weak, and recruitment and retention were poor.

鈥淲e were asking it to be responsible for advancing a state with a lot of problems,鈥� Case said.

A civil service reform bill had passed the House, the Senate and was in the gauntlet of conference committee. Case, who by then was majority leader, thought it was going to be approved. But he said the House Finance chair at the time sabotaged the bill, and that Say as speaker allowed that to happen.

鈥淧eople wanted change. And I thought that the pace of change was too slow,鈥� Case said. 鈥淎nd I was disappointed that a lot of very, very good work to solve literally one of the top three challenges facing 贬补飞补颈驶颈 had been taken out.鈥�

While it wasn鈥檛 the only reason, Case and the leadership team parted ways soon after. 

Say appreciated Case鈥檚 perspective, and said he was correct on the merits. But he disagreed with Case鈥檚 pace.

鈥淵ou got to be consistent every year trying to chip at it chip at it chip at it. Because they had members who are so afraid of the public employee unions,鈥� Say said. 鈥淪o that鈥檚 where I think Ed missed out. He wanted to do it now. Very impatient.”

Case wasn鈥檛 the only one who felt this way. 

Saiki became majority leader shortly after Case but soon enough also parted ways with House leadership.

He, first-term Rep. Della Au Belatti, and then-Rep. Sylvia Luke implored their colleagues to vote against Say鈥檚 leadership , citing what they saw as self-dealing and a lack of progress on issues like renewable energy and a tax credit for working families. 

They were the three lone votes against Say that day, not to be joined by a majority of their colleagues for six more years.

In the meantime, Say continued dominating the role and forcing incrementalism. He let meetings run late into the night, exhausting committee members so he could swoop in and negotiate a deal. 

He built personal relationships through hosting dinners at then-Rep. Kirk Caldwell鈥檚 house in M膩noa, inviting his supporters as well as fringe House members to ensure he had their votes.  

鈥淭here are people who are really good at vote counting,鈥� Caldwell said. 鈥淎nd Calvin Say is really good at vote counting.鈥�

Say had a talent for keeping his members happy. A decade before serving as Honolulu mayor, Caldwell entered the state House and hitched himself to Say鈥檚 leadership team despite feeling they were more conservative than he was.

鈥淚 felt there was greater trust with Calvin,鈥� Caldwell said. 鈥淚f he gives you his word, his word is good.鈥�

Caldwell was motivated by his time in Boston. In college and after graduation, he commuted via the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority鈥檚 rail line, better known as the 鈥淭.鈥� 

He wanted to bring a rail line to Honolulu. And as vice chair of the House Transportation Committee under Say鈥檚 leadership, he got to work on how to fund it. 

鈥淚 benefitted from something that the people of Boston sacrificed to build a hundred years before I got there,鈥� Caldwell said. 鈥淗e put me on that committee because I wanted to work on rail.鈥�

Say credits his longevity in part to Lingle, the Republican, becoming governor. That fueled demand among his members for a strong, proven Democratic House speaker. But no speaker lasts forever.

Dissatisfaction against Say grew over the years. His loyalists 鈥� like Caldwell 鈥� were leaving the House for other ventures, replaced by newer members who saw Say as somebody who had overstayed his welcome. 

鈥淭here was generational change,鈥� Saiki said. He and Luke joined forces with House Republicans in 2013 to overthrow Say and reinstall Souki. 

For Say鈥檚 remaining seven years in the House, he chaired no committees, leaving for the City Council in 2020 when a seat opened up.

Uncle Cal

As a City Council member, Say remained fiscally cautious. He asked testifiers questions in order to educate other council members. He showed up personally to neighborhood board meetings rather than sending a staffer. He focused on practicalities, killing bills that he thought weren鈥檛 sound financial decisions and speaking out when he worried about implementation.

When lifeguards wanted their own city department, Say refused to hold a hearing as chair of the Budget Committee.

When larger setbacks were approved for wind turbines, he lamented that the housing units his district hosts would need to find its energy elsewhere. 

And when the recent empty homes tax bill came up for a final vote, it was deferred after it became clear that Say, who would have been the tiebreaker, was poised to vote against the bill. That bill will likely come up again next year once a city-commissioned study is complete.

Sometimes, he complained that the state鈥檚 actions make the counties鈥� jobs more difficult. When pressed, he acknowledged that some of these grievances might come from his own past actions as a state representative.

One example: The City and County of Honolulu has struggled for years to find a spot for its new landfill, settling recently on a spot . A big reason is that state restrictions passed in 2020 prohibit placing a landfill within half a mile of schools, hospitals or residences. Say griped against the state鈥檚 restrictions, arguing they tie the city鈥檚 hands.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 create those conditions,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the Lege that did that Act 73, and the city has to abide by it.鈥�

But Say was in the House when the restrictions passed. His vote helped approve the bill. 

Now, Say thinks state law should be amended. O驶ahu legislators should agree because everybody on O驶ahu is affected by the landfill issue, he said at an October council meeting, citing societal practicalities and a strong potential voting bloc. 

鈥淲e just go and see our colleagues who are state legislators from O驶ahu,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey have the majority. And this is affecting O驶ahu as a county. They鈥檙e all going to face the music, one way or another. Not just Calvin Say.鈥�