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<br />that are also beholden because of your vote, and that's where we seem to be going
<br />today, that we only address whom votes for us. So technically, the case can be made
<br />that if you go to the Council with a concern, you, supposedly, if it has merit, have four
<br />advocates, to start with, out of nine. And that, I think, is a good thing. The fact that we
<br />have four years is good and that you're running people at -large is very, very different
<br />from single member, and it maintains the integrity and the wish of the public to have a
<br />single member. So, I really support this. I think it's good government.
<br />The problem I have, and I just bring that up for discussion, is everywhere I've taken
<br />this, the perception has been that they're getting screwed, and so we have to deal with
<br />that. If we're going to put something up from this Commission, that's trying very hard to
<br />serve the people, how does that play. And I'll guarantee you that everything we've
<br />seen in the Press so far, when we've talked about - we've never talked about
<br />eliminating single member but the Press has always slanted it, and colored it with at -
<br />large where the public's perception, in any discussions we have had, that it attacks
<br />single member. So, thank you.
<br />RAY: George.
<br />MARTIN: First of all, you're right in saying that the Press, or media, is the
<br />one that's slanting, or changing our decisions and discussions, and that's something
<br />we've got to take out of our minds. I think, Roland, it's a great idea. Two scenarios that
<br />I have with it, and some feedback from the populace - the four year term; they weren't
<br />willing to accept that in any way, shape, or form, even at -large. But, again, we can
<br />work on that. It's no big deal. I think it's something that's a doable situation.
<br />Your second point, in Section 3-17, Reapportionment Commission. Because of the
<br />monies that the County really doesn't have, and we've heard that from the get go, with
<br />this Commission when we started mentioning a Special Election, nobody has monies.
<br />To put another Commission together, 1 think, would possibly kill this proposal. Now, if
<br />you want to keep them together, it's no problem, but why can't we just reapportion it as
<br />a Commission now, in the Charter, to say we follow the House of Representatives
<br />districting, which is six, and then the three at -large wherever they want to come from?
<br />HIGASHI: George, some thought went into that. We can follow the House
<br />district, providing we have six House districts on the Big Island; we don't have any
<br />canoe districts if they reapportion us again.
<br />IRVINE: Yes.
<br />MARTIN: We can always put it in our Charter -
<br />HIGASHI: So that's going to be a problem.
<br />MARTIN: I hear what you're saying and it was brought up in that manner too.
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