Sam Slom is a party of one in Hawaii's Senate

by Mark Z. Barabak, LA Times, May 1, 2014 (excerpt)

HONOLULU — The clock was ticking and scores of bills hung in the balance, so Hawaii's Republican Senate caucus descended to the Capitol basement and an austere wood-paneled meeting room, sealing the door to plot strategy.

Peering from behind silver reading glasses, Minority Leader Sam Slom skimmed a summary of each bill, then rendered a verdict. A housing revenue bond: "That's OK." Funds to boost Hawaii's film industry: "We'll let that one go." Guaranteed overtime for public works: "More cost to the taxpayer," Slom said, flagging the bill for dissent on the Senate floor.

The room was filled with a dozen staffers as well as the minority leader, the GOP floor leader and the top-ranking Republican on each of 16 committees, yet in 21/2 hours there wasn't a whisper of dissent as Slom firmly made up his mind.

That's because Slom holds every one of those leadership positions.

In the 25-member Hawaii Senate there are 24 Democrats and one Republican: Slom, a Pennsylvania-born contrarian with a frugal streak owing to his parents' Great Depression upbringing and an unyielding capacity to be clobbered — ceaselessly, day in, day out — and gladly return for more.

"Nobody twisted my arm," he said. "Nobody's making me stay."

Other legislatures are lopsided. Until recently, California Democrats held a two-thirds majority in Sacramento. Rhode Island Democrats control the state House 69 to 6 and Wyoming Republicans command the state Senate 26 to 4.

But Slom — the pronunciation rhymes with "home" — is a figure of unique solitude, comprising the only single-member caucus anywhere in the country. Even Hawaii's House of Representatives has seven Republicans among its 51 members....

As a party of one, Slom needn't worry. "When I walk into a room," he said, smiling, "I bring 100% of the minority with me."....

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JDF: Hawaii's Lone(ly) Jewish Republican Sam Slom