COMM. 48.77 from C. King re Support Plan 40 revised

Home

To: County of Hawaii Redistricting Commissioners From: Cheryl King Subject: Testimony for Redistricting Commission Date: November 1, 2011 Ten years ago, a great wrong was done to Puna when it was parceled out into several council districts by the previous Commission. This Commission, in considering the various maps that have been submitted, has been trying to make up for that injustice by listening to the public testimony from Puna and providing for a mauka /makai Puna that also included Volcano. I myself, having either attended all the Commission meetings or at least having read the minutes when I was off island, was in agreement with this principle and looked for an intact Puna when I examined the various maps that were on display. Unfortunately, the genesis of what is now Plan A was not introduced until after the public hearings. Although Volcano was kept in a Puna district in Plan A, I watched with disbelief as Waikaloa was separated from Waimea; Honoka'a was divorced from Hamakua; and the rest of Hamakua was married to part of urban Hilo. Closer to home, a chunk of Keauhou not far from where I live - including the subdivisions of Keauhou Estates and Bayview Estates was thrown in with an area to the south that has nothing to do with the everyday life of its citizens. That area in the triangle formed by Kamemhameha III and Kuakini has been separated from its community. For those reasons, I have had to rethink whether Volcano should remain in a strictly Puna district if making up for an injustice that happened ten years ago causes equal injustice now. I now believe the Hybrid Plan 40 just introduced by Margaret Wille stands the best chance of providing fair and balanced county council redistricting for Hawaii Island. With the exception of retaining Volcano in District 6, the redistricting concerns I have heard most citizens express have been dealt with in Plan 40. Please give as much consideration and time to examining the latest version of the adjusted or Hybrid Plan 40 in detail as you did to Plan A at the last meeting. I don't believe a final map can be readied today and hope you will work on it next week as well. An apathetic public is finally waking up now that you have more solid plans to display and it would be advisable to allow them to testify next week as well before a final plan is pronounced ready to take to the public hearings Cheryl King Kailua -Kona COMM. 48.77