1999-08-25 Charter Commission Minutes (2)

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minutes 8-25-99Page 3 of 60 I felt that this would be in the best interest of the City and County of Honolulu. The 1992 General Election results, I think are very interesting. There were 244,493 votes cast; 130,588 voted in the affirmative and in the negative, 113,905. The margin was relatively close. It was only a 5% margin and I think that was, in great part, due to the fact that the public was not as aware as they should have been relative to the various nuances that would result with nonpartisan elections. So if this is a course of action that this Charter Commission proposes, I would suggest that a very aggressive educational program be put into place, not necessarily to support one point of view or the other, but to make the general public keenly aware of the positive aspects of nonpartisan elections vs. the other course of action. I think we’re all very aware of the fact that local government has little to do with partisan politics. Roads, parks, water, police, fire and zoning have very little to do with partisan politics. They’re all very basic services. During elections, partisan politics serves only to, in my opinion, distract the voters’ attention from the essential issues, municipal issues. Good ideas know no idealogy or party affiliation. Good people are not determined by party affiliation. As a Council Member, I can say that I have never given thought as to whether a nominee to a City Board or Commission - whether they are a card-carrying Member of this party or that. I have always evaluated them on the basis of their ability, their experience and their expertise. And as a businessman, I have never hired by party affiliation. I look for the best and the brightest. In over ten years as a Council Member, I have never even asked a prospective staff member as to their party affiliation. After almost ten years with me, my Senior Aide, who’s in the back of the room, Ron Boyer - to this day, I still don’t know what party he belongs to and it’s really unimportant. I believe that today’s voters are becoming increasingly more sophisticated in that they are better informed as to the important issues of the day. Citizens, in my opinion, no longer depend on a party boss or a shop steward to tell them how to vote and I have had some experience with labor organizations having served as the Assistant to the President of the AFL-CIO, Unity House, having served with the Teamsters and the Hotel Workers, so I do have a labor background and I say that we have come a long way. And there may be those of you who are affiliated with Labor Unions who would vehemently disagree. My firm belief that people today are voting for candidates based on their stands on the issues and that may be a bit of naivete on my part but that’s how I believe. A small legislative body such as a County Council with nine members can ill afford to waste time and energy engaged in party politics or attempting to champion certain party planks or party lines for the reasons I articulated earlier. The needs of the people; public health and safety, do not, in my opinion, depend on partisan politics. In a small legislative body, every members’ voice and vote is critically important. The issues that come before the body cross party lines. They can’t afford to "ice" out any member because he or she belongs to the "wrong" party. Party loyalty or the expectations of party leaders, may put undue pressure on elected officials to deny positions of authority or power to members of other parties. And sometimes members of the "other" party may be the more qualified to hold certain positions. Nonpartisan elections do not save the City or the County money insofar as election costs are concerned. There are still two elections; the first Special Election, and the second Special Election, so doing this to save money, I don’t think is going to be a benefit. However, nonpartisan elections serve to level the playing field for candidates, allowing all candidates of all political persuasions to go head to head file://\\coh01\cohweb\council\charter_commission\minutes\minutes 8-25-99.html7/1/2011