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CHRISTOPHER J. Yu EN HILO LAGOON CENTRE,SUITE 108 101 AUPUNI STREET HILO,HAWAII 96720 ATTORNEY AT LAW TEL.(808)935-4429 January 31, 1990 Hawaii County Charter Commission 101 Aupuni Street, Suite 235 Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Re: Single Member Districts and Reapportionment Commission Dear Members of the Charter Commission: I have drafted three new sections to the County Charter to effectuate the Charter Commission's vote at its last meeting to offer a single-member district council alternative to the voters. The first two are quite simple. We would replace the current Charter §3-2 with the following new language: Section 3-2 . Composition and Terms. There shall be a county council composed of nine members. One member shall be elected from each of nine districts. The terms of the council members shall be four years and shall begin at twelve o'clock meridian on the first Monday of December after their election. Candidates shall be nominated and elected in accordance with the election laws of the State. The current Charter §3-3 would be replaced with the following language: • Section 3-3. Qualifications. A person must be a citizen of the United States of America and have been a duly qualified registered voter of the county for at least one year immediately preceding election or appointment to the county council. A person must also have been a registered voter of the district from which the person is to be elected or appointed for at least ninety (90) days preceding the primary election or the appointment. In §3-3 , I deleted the language in the present §3-3 "where residency in a district is a requirement, " because if the -single- member district provision is adopted, residency will be a requirement for all councilmembers. I also changed the phrase "resident voter" to "registered voter" : "resident voter" does not have any definition that I'm aware of, whereas H.R.S. §11-13 contains several rules for being a "registered voter. " Generally, you must register from the place of your habitation or EXHIBIT A 797 (4 pages)