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CHAIRMAN SAKATA: You said that every <br /> councilman is a human being, right? So, he will fight for <br /> his district. Now, my question is that if all this funding, <br /> all the money, all the grants that come into the council--isn 't <br /> it the responsibility of the council to determine where the <br /> money is going to be funded? <br /> MR. ROBERT YAMADA: That ' s right. You have <br /> therecommendation from the administration. Once we had what <br /> we called pork barrel and the pork barrel , as I observed, went <br /> to each councilman ' s district. Let me put it that way, if <br /> that is what you want to know. <br /> CHAIRMAN SAKATA: Doyou feel that in the <br /> council there is favoritism as to where the money is funded? <br /> MR. ROBERT YAMADA: That ' s right. They all <br /> favor their own district, as a rule. There may be some <br /> exceptions. <br /> CHAIRMAN SAKATA: That is what I am saying. <br /> Isn ' t this the responsibility of the council to sit down and <br /> rather than play favoritism to decide where the funding should <br /> be done? <br /> MR. ROBERT YAMADA: That ' s right, everything <br /> is the council ' s responsibility but what they do is _something <br /> else again. <br /> CHAIRMAN SAKATA: Another thing that you talked <br /> about is that , and I quote from you that "the right people should <br /> be "iri _office. " From what I gather and the things that I have <br /> heard and have observed, I have noticed that the SYSTEM is okay. <br /> I don ' t care what kind of system we have, strong mayor-council, <br /> board of supervisors, as you spoke about, it is the system that <br /> is okay. So it is the people then, <br /> MR. ROBERT YAMADA: Well , in many ways , it is. <br /> Also:, thesystem, too. Like this system here where we have the <br /> strong mayor with the administration and legislative. Why a <br /> county like ours which is a corporation-.-we don ' t need an <br /> administration. Either have an administration or have the <br /> legislative body. One of the two. <br /> CHAIRMAN SAKATA: So you would like to have a <br /> manager-director type system then? <br /> MR. ROBERT YAMADA: It might be a good idea to <br /> have a managing director. <br /> CHAIRMAN SAKATA: Then my question is where you <br /> have a manager-director type, if the people in there are not the <br /> right people, as you say, then it is not going to work , right? <br /> MR. ROBERT YAMADA: Probably not, but you can <br /> never always elect the right people. You don ' t know until you <br /> elect and they do their work . Then, that is when you know and <br /> it is probably too late, <br /> -25- <br />