HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0248.005 2008-2010
Bob Jacobson
PO Box 900, Kurtistown, Hawaf i, 96760 808-966-8831, jacobs@hawaiianisp.com
April 12, 2009
To: Chairman Yoshimoto and Members of the Hawaii County Council
Topic: Please vote against Reso 98-09
Aloha Chair and Members,
Please vote against Reso 98-09 and oppose HB 345. 1 like the existing law approved by the 2008 Legislature and
supported by the Hawaii League of Women Voters, the Clean Elections Coalition and two previous Hawaii County
Council Resolutions. The law allows for a pilot program in Hawaii County that seeks to level the playing field for those
seeking elective office and to end the grip that special interests exercise over the government in Hawaii. It would allow
grassroots candidates to get adequate public funding to win races against special interest corporately funded candidates.
Similar legislation has increased voter turnout and confidence in the process when enacted in other states. Special interests
add huge costs to taxpayers. Many believe such laws have led to better government. Objections in this resolution to Clean
Elections reveal a net full of red herrings and inaccurate assumptions.
Let's start with the assumption regarding the need to fund twenty four primary and general contests for in 2010. Look at
past elections. In 2008 three Council races had to go to the General to be settled, in 2006 only two, in 2004 none, and two
in 2002. There were seven contested general races in the last four elections. Do you think we can't remember past races
or count?
The next faulty assumption is that at least 24 candidates would qualify by getting 200 registered voters signatures on their
nomination papers plus getting each approved to donate $5 to that candidate. Anyone who has petitioned on this island
knows the difficulty of getting a person to sign anything much less donating $5. The Elections Office routinely throws out
half the signatures for mundane reasons. People who sign petitions have learned that if they sign something political they
face harassment at work. As an example look at the reluctance people had to sign the MJ as lowest law enforcement
priority, yet,it met with overwhelming success at the ballot place.
Regarding time constraints, if the Chair of the Campaign Spending Commission (CSC) Ms Wong took herjob and the
vote of the 2008 Legislature seriously, she would have embarked immediately on implementing this law in 2008, rather
than figuring out ways to delaying implementation.
The resolution then starts drawing the red herrings out of the net. It brings in other statewide clean election problems of
other states. By this same logic we should repeal laws against murder because people still kill each other.
Another red herring muddies the waters by inflating costs. This small Council pilot program won't cost $15-45 million
dollars. It might cost as much as $500,000 from existing funding earmarked voluntarily and democratically by taxpayers
on their tax forms. Have you thought about why many taxpayers check that box? Do you care less about those taxpayers
and more for the special interests that keep some elected officials in office with big corporate donations? Many donors
don't live on this island or even in this state. Constituents can draw their own conclusions after going to the Campaign
Spending Commission website, http://hawaii.gov/campaigii / They can see who gets what and who voted against clean
elections.
Lastly, the biggest red herring the resolution expects us to swallow uses other court challenges in other states to attack the
law. There is a severability clause in the law to address this. These rulings don't apply to Hawaii Election law. No
Council Member is spending $84,000 out of his own pocket. The US Supreme Court refused to hear these cases.
In conclusion, please protect clean elections by voting against Reso 98-09 and opposing HB 345. This resolution
represents the most cynical and degrading techniques by special interests to destroy a law that took years to introduce and
finally pass. Some people seem to believe that that if they keep repeating the same lies often enough then those lie appear
to be the truth. Clean Elections delayed is clean government denied. p
Sincerely, Comm. No.
Ref. To: V
Former Hawaii C outy Council Member Bob Jacobson Ref. Date AP 13 2009