HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0183.025 2020-2022 P/PC
WW1.185
From: Koohan Paik-Mander
Sent: Thursday, April 01, 2021 9:09 AM
To: Council Testimony
Subject: Communication 183
Someone needs to explain to Mayor Roth that the commissions do not exist as extensions of the mayor. They
exist to provide a plurality of voices, as a checks-and-balances safeguard against dictatorial leadership. It's all
in the interest of democratic process.
The presence of Van Pernis on the Leeward Planning Commission has provided the plurality of perspectives
that are the foundation of a functional democracy.
Van Pernis's challenges (such as his desire to examine the potential conflicts-of-interest with Roth's darling
appointment, Zendo Kern) may irritate the mayor, but we should be thanking Van Pernis for this
uncompromising commitment to ethics and fairness, not ousting him! His presence on the commission provides
proactive energy toward a better Hawaii.
Let us strive to retain our practices that honor democracy and a plurality of perspectives. Van Pernis must
remain.
Mahalo,
Koohan Paik-Mander
6
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1 Ref. nate APR - 6 2021