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Presented 10/13/89 <br /> • <br /> RECOMMENDATIONS TO CHARTER COMMISSION <br /> FROM PAAUILO MAUKA - KALOPA COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION <br /> After discussion among our membership and with representatives of other ' <br /> groups on the Island which are working toward a uniform set of proposals, <br /> the Paauilo Mauka - Kalopa Community Association asks that the following <br /> principles be incorporated into the Hawaii County Charter. <br /> County Council <br /> The present method of choosing the County Council is unfair, because the <br /> districts are not properly represented. District residency requirements <br /> mean little if the choice is made by voters outside the district. There <br /> can be no stronger proof of this than the instances we have seen where a <br /> council candidate is elected in spite of losing the vote in the home <br /> district. <br /> On the other hand, we believe the interests of the County as a whole should <br /> also be represented on the Council. We therefore ask that either of the <br /> following systems be implemented: <br /> 1. that there be six council districts, and each district elect one council <br /> member, with an additional three members chosen at-large; or <br /> 2. that there be nine council districts, and candidates be selected by <br /> voters onlywithin their districts in the primaryelection, but <br /> by <br /> island-wide vote in the general election. <br /> These systems both have the further advantage that they reduce the costs of <br /> political campaigns for at least some of the candidates, and thus make <br /> political office more widely accessible, and less dependent upon <br /> contributions from special interests. <br /> Planning Commission <br /> We believe that planning issues are the real key to quality of life for our <br /> people, and just as with the County Council, district residency <br /> requirements are not an adequate safeguard of the public interest. <br /> Once commissioners are appointed, their tenure in office is not affected by <br /> what kind of a job they do or how responsive they are to public concerns. <br /> They serve a longer term than the officials who appoint and confirm them. <br /> There has been a disproportionate representation on the Commission of <br /> individuals connected with the land development industries. <br /> We believe the interests of good government would be better served by <br /> decentralizing the appointive power for this body, and we therefore ask <br /> 641 <br /> EXHIBIT A <br />