MIN CHC 2009-03-13.tif - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS CHR. HAITSUKA: My name is Ed Haitsuka. We have a few guests today. We have Mayor William P. Kenoi; and Council Chair J Yoshimoto, to say a few words before we start. Mayor Kenoi. MAYOR KENOI: Aloha, thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Aloha everyone. I want to sincerely express my gratitude and appreciation to each and every one of you to agreeing to take on this task of serving on the Charter Commission for the County of Hawaii. I'm very proud to look around at every one of you and know that you represent in every shape, form and facet of our wonderful, special community; their viewpoints, their hopes, their dreams. You know, the Charter Commission, this will probably be the most important body throughout my tenure as I'm honored and privileged to serve as Mayor. Somebody asked me, what is this Charter Commission, Billy? I told them, The Charter Commission is the Constitutional Convention of the County of Hawaii. In this body, during your deliberations over these next many months, all of you will decide the design, the framework, the vision, the issues of the County of Hawaii going forward. As you all know, I take care of a small piece of my value. But I know every one of you shares that same value, and that's what we do today is for the benefit of our children, their children and their children's children. This is not about credit. This is not about addressing any special interests, any friendships, any entities, any friends, any organization any special association in the Island of Hawaii; but to honor what has been given to us as a proud legacy from our parents, our grandparents, and their parents as well. And as trustees of this wonderful legacy, it is our responsibility to pass that to the next generation. And all of you will decide whether council people should have the consideration of four year terms. Maybe they need to be "at- large" and everybody should campaign island wide. Maybe you guys will decide that we shouldn't have a Mayor system of government, and maybe we might want to have a City Manager system. Whatever you guys decide, I trust it will be the right decision. I'm very honored that each of you have agreed to serve as caretakers, as trustees of that vision for our County of Hawaii. I'm proud to serve as Mayor along with Council Chairman -J Yoshimoto. And I'm pleased with J's values and J's vision, and our collaborative partnering and cooperative working relationship. And it's great to be able to put aside ideologies and philosophies and just really get down and help the people of our island. Thanks you guys, that's all I have to say. Mahalo, and if any of you need any further guidance, there's Ed Haitsuka, Jamae Kawauchi, and Casey Jarman and Lincoln Ashida. You guys are all in very capable hands, legal. But, thank you, each of you, who represent a different part of our island, a different part of our history and a different part of our vision. Mahalo. CHR. HAITSUKA: Thank you Mayor, Kenoi. (Applause) Good afternoon, Chairman Yoshimoto. COUNCIL CHR. YOSHIMOTO: How's it going? Can I sit? I always wanted to sit down here because usually I'm on the other side of the table and I consider this a very special opportunity. First of all, I would like to thank everyone for serving on this commission. I want to echo the 2