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<br /> <br /> Page 1 of 2 <br /> <br /> <br /> Murashige, Laura <br /> <br /> From: Bett Bidleman [Bettbi@hawaiiantel.net] 2005 flPR 15 fl~ 8 28 <br /> Sent: Thursday, April 10, 2008 3:25 PM <br /> <br /> To: Councilmember Ford'; 'Councilmember Higa'; 'Councilmember Hoffman'; 'Coun I ei I ?da'b'.1,~t1 <br /> 'Councilmember Jacobsen'; 'Councilmember Naeole'; 'Councilmember Pilago'{',f.dil IPnember <br /> Yagong'; 'Councilmember Yoshimoto'; 'Public Testimony' <br /> Cc: 2percent.forthelandfund@gmail.com <br /> Subject: FW: 2% supporters- shocking UPDATE on Initiaitve and Referendum at Council <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Please RE-INSERT THE FOLLOWING CLAUSES in Bill 257: <br /> 1. THAT THE MAYOR CANNOT VETO AN INITIATIVE or a REFERENDUM AND <br /> THE COUNCIL CANNOT OVERTURN A MEASURE APPROVED BY VOTERS <br /> EXCEPT BY TWO-THIRDS VOTE AND <br /> 2. THAT A MEASURE CAN QUALIFY FOR THE BALLOT WITH 10% OF THE <br /> AMOUNT OF SIGNATURES IN THE LAST MAYORAL ELECTION. <br /> And Pass Bill 257- Trust the WISDOM of VOTERS to DECIDE- <br /> PUT THE MEASURE ON THE BALLOT <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Here's why this safeguard is important! Mayor Kim has asked the Open Space commission to <br /> recommend to the Council that park management be paid as part of the 2% money. When we ran the <br /> campaign for the 2% set aside of taxes we told petition signers that the money was ONLY to purchase <br /> open space or conservation easements. This would gut this ordinance and betray the trust of the voters! <br /> <br /> There is approximately $4 million each year as 2% of the property taxes. The administration's property <br /> manager, Harry Yada told the Open Space Commission that the 2% money is spent for all of 2008, for <br /> Waipio Valley look out and Kawa Bay. If the 2% money was to be spent on maintenance of parks, there <br /> would be no money for property acquisition. At the Council meeting yesterday, Donald Ikeda said that <br /> he wanted to see the 2% law changed to include maintenance. Maintenance is the kuleana of Parks and <br /> Recreation; this is part of their annual budget. <br /> <br /> VOTED "NO" BY COUNCIL MEMBERS YOSHIMOTO, NAEOLE, HIGA AND <br /> IKEDA_DELETED: The other clause was deleted because Yoshimoto, Higa, Ikeda and Naeole <br /> voted "NO" was to allow the petitioner's committee (like the Save Our Land Citizens Committee) to <br /> collect 10% of the amount of voters who voted in the last election for Mayor. During the 2% campaign <br /> we needed 4,846 signatures. WE collected almost 8,400+ signatures that the County said they would <br /> review. The Elections office and County Clerk Connie Kirin invalidated 65% of these signatures for <br /> people leaving off st. ave. or place or leaving out the year-2006. This was at the direction of the Kim <br /> administration, Council Chair Stacy Higa and Corporation Counsel Lincoln Ashida. Instead of trying to <br /> qualify voters, they disqualified them. <br /> <br /> The current charter requires that 15% of the voters who voted in the last mayoral election qualify as <br /> signers of the peitions. In the last mayoral election Mayor Kim was elected in the primary, which is a <br /> smaller turnout of voters. If the Mayor is elected in the general election, not the primary, the amount of <br /> Comm. NaJsZ-C <br /> Ref. To: <br /> 4/14/2008 Ref. fJat,3 RB 92 z <br />