Grassroot Institute

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The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation engaging in political advocacy, based in Honolulu. It was founded in 2000 by

  • Richard O. Rowland, its current CEO and a former Army colonel and life insurance salesman; and
  • Malia Zimmerman, currently a member of the board, and editor and publisher of the Hawaii Reporter.

After several years of focusing mainly on opposing tax hikes and environmental regulations in line with its conservative/libertarian philosophy, in 2005 the Grassroot Institute hired Bruce Fein, a constitutional lawyer in Washington, DC, as a consultant in an effort to prevent passage of the Akaka Bill. (The bill would allow Native Hawaiians to set up an entity comparable to federally recognized Native American tribal entities.) Fein reportedly was successful in encouraging Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and other Republican senators to delay the bill.

Regarding the funding of the Institute's advocacy activities against the Akaka bill through donations, the August 14, 2005 edition of the Honolulu Advertiser reported that

Among those who have contributed to the cause is former Advertiser publisher Thurston Twigg-Smith, a key figure in Aloha for All and its lawsuits. Twigg-Smith estimated that he has probably contributed "in the low five figures" and estimated that, while he had nothing to base it on, there are probably up to 10 other donors who have given "in the high fours, low fives."
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