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they showed up. And a lot of them sent and faxed in testimony. Okay? So that's what
<br />happened. And then the move went back and we satisfied that community and we kind of
<br />drew lines.
<br />Now in November -- follow me on this - -on November 3rd, we were drawing the maps before
<br />we went out to public hearings on the 21st and 22'd. This is when - - -and believe me, I don't
<br />know where Fresh, or Brenda lives, I don't know where anybody lives, not even my own
<br />County Councilman. I don't know where he lives. I know he lives in Hamakua and I know
<br />who represents us; I know who represents the 9th district, because we are close by. But in
<br />the Hilo area, seriously, I knew nothing and I didn't want to know. I just wanted to do what
<br />was right. I didn't need to play those games, and that's not what I was here for. So, on that
<br />November 3rd meeting, before we went out to bring our final maps to the public, we drew
<br />these lines, and it affected the districts now in question. So, now the person representing
<br />that district, which I'm now knowing is Fresh Onishi, goes out and contacts his constituents.
<br />So, what makes that any different from what he did than what our councilman did in District
<br />1 and what the 9th district, Pete Hoffmann - -- Public testimony is over, I'm speaking, sorry.
<br />Anyway, so that doesn't make it any different. He contacted his constituents. Now - -Can
<br />they turn off the mic out there in Kona? Can you guys turn off your mic there because we
<br />can hear you laughing and making comments back there and I really would appreciate you
<br />allowing me to speak; because we allowed you to speak?
<br />From there, what I am saying is, I don't know Fresh personally. I met him because of this
<br />Commission, so now I know who is the representative and what they look like. Where they
<br />live or whatever, I still don't know. However, he had the right to contact his constituents
<br />like everybody else did. Unfortunately, the public perceived it to be a last minute change,
<br />when it wasn't a last minute change because what happened is, as you heard Jamae testify,
<br />on November 21st and 22'd we were receiving testimony now because of our November 3rd
<br />drawing of the maps that we were bringing out to the public. The first time I ever saw that
<br />testimony was when I was sitting in Kona on the 21st; I think we sat in Kona. I saw all the
<br />testimony come in about, oh, this map is not - - -So, as a Commissioner, I believe I treated
<br />everybody fairly, and I listened to the people who had problems when we drew the map. So
<br />I needed to listen to these people also. They also had the right to have their voice. So when
<br />we came back after the public hearings and all of this happened, we had one more place that
<br />we needed to address because of what had happened. So it was not a last minute change
<br />that the perception is. And again, remember, I heard a lot of testimony saying it's a
<br />perception. And what the papers put out - -and I heard a lot of testimony also here about the
<br />papers, about what the papers say- -and you got to remember, the papers are putting out their
<br />perception. And we are here as a Commission, and I promise you, I know I am speaking not
<br />only for myself, but we are bridge builders. We want to help build safe and healthy
<br />communities. We don't want to cause dissention in communities, and we are trying our best
<br />not to.
<br />We are bound by some census blocks that will cut communities down the line because if we
<br />move that line where the community says it is right in half, then, boom, the census block
<br />goes and it throws all the numbers off again. So the problem of us being tied to the census
<br />block, that was some of the problems in some communities that we had that was not by our
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