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founding members a long time ago. I am on the Kailua Village Business Improvement District, where I try to help to make Ali‘i Drive a National Scenic Byway. So I am helping out in that aspect. I do a lot in the community. I love to do a lot in the community; I love to do whatever I can for the community, so it is my pleasure to sit on this commission. Thank you again. MR. MIDDLESWORTH: I am Mike Middlesworth. I am a retired newspaper man. I came to Hawai‘i in 1973 to be Managing Editor of the Honolulu Advertiser. I did that for 12 years and then I was the Business Manager at the Advertiser. I came to Hilo in 1992, after the newspaper was sold and I was forced into retirement. I did consulting for newspapers around the world for several years before I decided to just stay home. My son and I had a pig farm up in Mountain View for several years. I was one of the owners of Fiasco’s Restaurant; I was the principal owner at the time that we had to close it, so that was an interesting experience. I have lived in Waiakea Uka for the last 17 or 18 years. Beyond that, I have been interested in a number of things in the community, however not involved in too many other than political campaigns. I got into those because during the years that I was working for newspapers, we could not be involved in any community affairs, simply because of our code of ethics. I volunteered for this commission because I feel that it is a very important thing that we need to do. I was quoted in the newspaper saying that I have no ax to grind, which is true. I am not involved with any of the council members, so I have no concern one way or another about that part of it. I just want us to do a fair and decent job of redistricting the County. MR. MELROSE: Aloha, my name is Jeff Melrose. I am a Land Planner by profession. I have lived in Hilo for about 20 years; on the Big Island for about 25. I was raised on Maui, in Makawao. In addition to a small, private land use planning firm, I teach at the University in the field of Land Use Planning. I am on the board of the Downtown Hilo Improvement Association; I Chair their Planning and Governmental Affairs Committee. I also sit on the board of the Kui Kahi Mediation Center. I have been involved in facilitation and dispute resolution for much of my adult life. I began in North Kohala in 1974-75, right after the plantations shut down, and most of my professional career has really tracked behind large scale plantation shut downs.I managed Puna Sugar for Amfac. I worked for Kamehameha Schools during much of the shut down years through the 1990’s and early 2000’s. Just watching rural transition and rural change has been part of my professional role. I would really prefer not to be involved in leadership in this, but I am absolutely committed to a fair and equitable solution and listening to people’s concerns, but dealing with the truth and delivering a good product. With that, would it appropriate just to ask if anybody has a motion they want to make about leadership based on that short introduction? Does anybody have a motion they would like to make? Election of Chairperson MR. CARVALHO: Should we ask first who would like to be in the leadership role? I think we have a few people. MS. SIRACUSA: I couldn’t hear that. MR. MELROSE: He simply asked who would like to be in a leadership role in the Commission. Who would be willing to do so? 7