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Attorney Clinton R. Ashford and political scientist Neal Milner join Roth in October 1993 to discuss Hawaii's leasehold conversion debate. Ashford traces the issue back to the 1967 Land Reform Act, which authorized condemnation to force sales from landowners to lessees for single-family homes, and the 1984–85 Supreme Court rulings that upheld it. By 1993 the dispute centers on condominiums, with federal courts having ruled the 1991 Honolulu conversion ordinance constitutional. Milner argues that Bishop Estate, eager to sell its condo land for better investment returns elsewhere, is a fundamentally different actor from small family landowners who view their holdings as a legacy and resist selling. He estimates roughly 60 to 75 percent of condo owner-occupants are Caucasian while landowners are predominantly local — a racial fault line Ashford largely attributes to the high proportion of investor-owners rather than homeowners. Milner warns that unresolved bitterness could poison the broader conversation about Hawaiian sovereignty. Both guests end in agreement that negotiated, flexible arrangements — seller financing, profit-sharing on resale — would serve everyone better than litigation lasting another twenty years.
Transcript
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