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Septeml-ier 16, 1989 Charter Review Commission County of Hawaii Re: Gender Parity on Boards and Commissions Initiative Dear Commissioners : At our annual meeting in April, the League of Women Voters of Hawaii County adopted the following positions. • The League believes that Boards and Commissions should be comprised of not more than a bare majority of members of one gender. On most Boards, and I have served on several, women are presently under represented. As one means of insuring that women earn comparable wages, will move equally comfortably in positions of governmental power, and fairness to the whole community which needs their expertise, Gender Parity on Boards and Commissions should be mandated by law. Please add a Gender Parity requirement to our County Charter. On the other subject that I would like to speak to -- Initiative. The League of Women Voters supports Initiative for all issues as stated in our present Charter. We propose reducing the number of signatures required to validate an Initiative Petition fron 15% to 10% of those who voted for the Mayor in the previous election. As our County grows , 10% will be a large number of signatures for the County Clerk to verify. The League is most concerned about the wording of ballot issues . Of course they must be worded legally, but equally important is that the issues must be understandable to voters . The most recent example of ambiguity was the November Hapuna issue. A person had to vote "yes" on the ballot to say "no" to the hotel being built directly next to Hapuna Beach Park, and visa versa. The League would like to have a publicly funded mailing prior to the election to explain the pros and cons of the ballot issue, and a clear explanation of the consequences of either vote. A facsimile ballot mailed to each registered voter would facilitate the voting process , reduce the confusion on election day, and really give all our citizens a better feeling about Government. I hope for the sake of all our citizens , that you incorporate these ideas in the Charter. Sincerely, EXHIBIT B 608 (1 page) GC-. Marge Mulhall Vice President League of Women Voters Hawaii County