A group of non-Hawaiians want their say in a court case against the Office of Hawaiian Affairs that asks the state agency to spend its money helping only those with 50 percent or more Native Hawaiian blood.

The irony is that the six Hawai'i residents, led by former Advertiser publisher Thur-ston Twigg-Smith, are on the opposite side of those bringing the lawsuit. Twigg-Smith and his associates want OHA dismantled because they feel it discriminates against non-Hawaiians such as themselves.

The case is Day v. Apoliona, which was filed in 2005 by Virgil Day, Mel Ho'omanawanui, Josiah Ho'ohuli, Patrick Kahawaiola'a and Samuel Kealoha, all of whom are at least 50 percent Hawaiian.

The suit argues that OHA has too many beneficiaries and that most of the agency's $28 million annual budget should be spent on people with at least 50 percent Hawaiian blood.

OHA officials say they have a mandate to help all Hawaiians.
[...]
The state attorney general's office is opposing Burgess' petition for intervention.

OHA Administrator Clyde Namu'o said he believes agency attorneys will also oppose Burgess' request.