If she does her job properly, Barbara Uphouse Wong, who has taken over as executive director of the state Campaign Spending Commission, will soon discover that she has few friends in the world of politics.

And that's as it should be.

Wong, who succeeds an aggressive Robert Watada as executive director, will quickly understand that a high bar has been set at what was once a sleepy state regulatory body.

For years, the commission was content to focus on disclosure and not on enforcement. Candidates and contributors who ran afoul of the law were accustomed to being given a pass, or at worst, a small slap on the wrist.

Under Watada's administration, the commission stepped up its enforcement and regulatory duties. Enforcement of a statute as confusing and often contradictory as the state campaign spending law should be done with a measure of compassion, but Watada made it clear that those who know (and indeed often wrote) the rules must be obligated to play by them.

That's a new and refreshing standard in Hawai'i politics.

Wong, an attorney who also served as a Honolulu police officer and administrator, has the background to maintain that standard.

The public expects a political system that is fair to all. There should be no legal or technical obstacles to those who ask no more than a level playing field.

Watada moved us vigorously in the direction of that goal. It is now Wong's turn to take up the challenge and finish the job.