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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOMM. 057 . Masayuki Kawasaki P. 0. Box 81 Capt., Cook , Hi. 96704 May 22, 1979 Mr. Chairman and Members of the Charter Commission. My name is Masayuki Kawasaki . I am a resident of Capt. Cook , Kona and I speak for myself as a voter with the power of one v.�te in the election of the Councy Council. I am here to defend and enhance the power of my single vote and the votes of the thousands of other Kona voters , whose only claim to power over the County legislative process is the. power of their votes. As you know, the County of Hawaii is a large land mass , which is divided by mountains and other geographic features, so that there are chiefly two areas of activities and population. These two areas are centered around Hilo in East Hawaii and Kona in West Hawaii. The population of East Hawaii is the much larger of the two areas. In many kinds of activities , these two areas are competitive. Previously, Hawaii County was divided into two areas . During the pre-charter days of the Board of Supervisors, there were three supervisors for East Hawaii and three for West Hawaii with the County Chairman who was elected. at-large, holding the ultimate power balance between the East and the West. And it is the reality of history that even tho the population of East Hawaii was far greater than the population of West Hawaii , West Hawaii had an effective voice in the County legislative process because the at-large office could be won or lost by the few thousand West Hawaii votes. Old-timers will recall that about 30 years ago, . one election was won and lost by one vote. The at-large elected official balanced the fulfilling of the needs of the East and the West most objectively because he needed the votes in both areas in order to win . The voters of West Hawaii voted for 4 members of COMM. , � M. Kawasaki -2- the Board and were the constituents of the majority. The concept of fairly meeting the needs of the East and the West through the at-large election was continued in the 2nd County Charter under which we now operate. I now vote for 9 Councilmen. My vote is effective. However, the effectiveness of the power of my vote is only one of my goals for the selection of the makeup of the County Council . The other goals are fairness and an acceptable differ- entiation of candidates. By fairness , I mean both one-man one-vote and an equal oppor- tunity for political participation. The one-man one-vote principle is required by the Constitution. Equal opportunity for political participation is an -aspect- of fairness that could mean different things to different groups of peop.le. . To me, this aspect of fairness is especially relevant to areas with rapidly growing population. The large influx of people upsets the traditional balances of political power. " Changes must be made in order to accomodate the increase in population is. some districts , otherwise, the areas of little growth will offer political opportunities at the expense of the newly populated areas. By differentiation of candidates , I mean that the number of Councilmen comin.g up for election at one time be limited in number so that I am able to dist4nguish the attitude, behavior, and skills of each candidate... , To illustrate what I mean by extreme examples-- when voting for one office, I need decide only between 2 candidates. I can identify and evaluate each candidate. However, if I were required to vote for a hundred offices, I will be faced with an avalanche of 200 candidates. For example, the election of most of M. Kawasaki -3- the offices becomes meaningless because I cannot properly identify and evaluate the candidates. Summarizing my criteria for the selection of the system for the election of the County Council are ( 1 ) The eftfectiveness of my Councilmen in the legislative process. ( 2 ) Fairness. And ( 3) Differentiation of candidates. I have already pointed out that now because I am a constituent of all the Councilmen , I have powe-r over the County legislative process. However, under the present system, a district with a population of only a fraction of the population of Kona has one Councilman , running at-large from his district,` while Kona with a much larger population also runs one Councilman . I feel this is unfair. Also, under the present system, a vote for 9 Councilmen. Assuming two candidates to each office, I must keep track of 18 candidates. This is a number much too large for me to differentiate between candidates. I cannot identify and evaluate all 18 candidates. Then , most likely , I will vote according to my prejudices rather� l; than through an objective consideration of each candidate. So, I. feel that the present system. of 9 at-large electedQCouncilmen does not meet my criterion of. differentiation. A proposal for the election of the Councilmen by districts has been made by some Kona organizations. I shall now assess this proposal on the basis of my criteria. The proposal calls for the assignment of the number of Councllmen for each district on the basis of the population of the district so that each Councilman will represent and be chosen from an equal number of people This aspect of the proposal is fair. The election by district proposal calls for theelectionof up to three Councilmen in any one district. This number allows 4 M. Kawasaki -4- good differetl'tiation of candidates. I shall now discuss the effectiveness of the power of my vote, over the County legislative process under this proposal . Issues may be settled by elected officials on the basis of goodwill or .charity. But the final , nitty-gritty, the bottom . line of decision-making in a showdown of conflicting interests is the power of the majority vote. For, as you are aware, in our democratic political system,•.. the decision is madebya majority vote. In a Council of 9 members , 5. votes passes the motion. Although I am sure that Councilmen are men of goodwill and charity, in the showdown on an issue which involves a decision on a way, of life, I would want to rely on the power of my vote. The population of East ,Hawaii centered in Hilo is far larger than the population of West Hawaii centered in Kona. Thus , ' on- the basis of population , the larger number, of Councilmen would come from the Hilo area and vicinity. These Councilmen would have the common interest of a common area and form a lasting coalition. In a Council of 9 members , all it takes is a coalition of 5 members to exercise control . The other 4 members have no power and at best are carpet movers--people who pull back thecarpetand scream and stomp at any pile: of dirt that the ruling coalition may sweep under. Because of the division of the County into two areas of • activities through geo,graphy and by tradition , and .the far larger population is in East Hawaii , under the plan to elect the Councilmen by districts, i would , as a Kona voter, most probably be voting for 2 d'arpet movers . My real power over the County legislative process is reduced to zero for I am not a constituent of a majority of the Councilmen. And where does the power go? M. Kawasaki -5- Initially, the power goes to the Councilman who is now free of the constraint of the Kona voters. He can decide an issue internal to Kona on the basis of the best interest of himself and the voters of his own district who are his constituents. He does not have to come to me or to the Kona people for votes. He is free to look after his own self-interest. He can act with total unconcernfo:r�the power of the Kona voters and can respond to the visible and invisible influences that are brought to bear. on him by people and organizations with the wealth .to . lobby effectively. Thus , the rational analysis of the flow of power shows that the election-by-district .plan ''emasculates the Kona voters, fandeopenst:e way to the control by wealth of the County legislative process as it concerns issues internal to Kona. However, on the basis on my analysis , I feel that the proposal has some merits. It is fair. It provides good candidate differ- entiation. I feel that because of these merits., we should accept the proposal to a limited extent and combine it with some features of the present election at-large.-system to provide the Kona voters with a system that meets the criteria of effectiveness of our votes , fairness , and differentiation of candidates. A plan that would provide for 4 districts of equal population , each voting one Councilman, would require 3 Councilmen elected at-large to provide each voter the power that comes from being the cons:atuent of the majority of the Councilmen. - A plan that would provide for 5 districts of equal population , eachlnoting one Councilman , would require 4 Councilmen elected at-largetoprovide each voter the power that comes with being the constituent of a majority of Councilmen. M. Kawasaki -6- districtsabovefive, feel , runs into the A number of I problem of not meeting the criterion of economy. Elected as they are from districts, the term of office of the District. Councilmen could be limited to 2 years , thereby giving the voters the opportunity to exercise the power of their ballot more often. The terms of the Councilmen running at-large could be left at 4 years as a trade-off to the cost of running at-large with half of the at-large Councilmen elected every 2 years. Thus , at any one election , a voter need vote for only three Councilmen at most. A good differentiation of candidates is possible. The rnrost important criterion for a County Charter proposal is the criterion ofacceptability. As representatives of the various districts throughout the County of Hawaii , I feel that the judgment :, ori this criterion is made by you as members of the County Charter Commission. I ask that you exercise that judgment on the basis of the important other criteria of effectiveness of the power of the votes of the people throughout the County, fajrness , and candidate differentiation.