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Spring 1994, Randall Roth sits down with Jack Lewin, Hawaii's State Director of Health and a possible Democratic candidate for governor, to take listener calls across a broad range of issues. Lewin has not yet declared his candidacy but describes a draft effort, "People for a Healthy Hawaii," collecting donations on his behalf. He argues that Hawaii's government has grown too large and should be decentralized: his own health department, he says, could shrink from 6,500 employees to roughly 2,500 by moving hospitals and mental health services into community-based operations. On education, Lewin calls for fewer administrators and smaller class sizes, funded by economic growth rather than new taxes. He supports Hawaiian sovereignty without reservation, backs domestic partnerships for same-sex couples, favors a ban on semi-automatic weapons, and endorses light rail for Oahu. Healthcare works better in Hawaii's private sector, he contends, with costs 35 percent below federal programs; he wants full coverage for the 3 to 4 percent still uninsured without ceding control to Washington. Callers challenge him on physician pay, emergency-hire loopholes in state government, and lease-to-fee conversion.
Transcript
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