HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOMM. 087 WEST HAWAII
to
v ay
Aug. 2 , 1979
Mr. Kimiaki Sakata
Chairman
Hawaii County Charter Review Commission
County Building
25 Aupuni Street
Hilo, HI 96720
Dear Mr. Sakata:
For your consideration , I 'm enclosing a copy of an editorial
that will appear in the Aug. 7 edition of this newspaper. The
reason for sending the copy in advance is that there ' s no way of
determining if you will see the Aug. 7 edition before the commission
meets on Aug. 8. I sincerely believe the views expressed in the
editorial reflect the opinions of many people in the community.
I hope you will share these thoughts with the other commissioners .
Sincerely,
Webster K. Noln
Editor
COMM 'NO.
P.O. Box 789 • Kailua-Kona, Hawaii 96740 • 808.329.9311
A member of the ch Donrey Media Group
charter editorial • '
_
FOR PAGE ONE,TUES AUG,7 ',
I
Of all the plans under consideration by the.County •
•
Charter Review Commission for organizing the County,' • 1a6 `•;-..y,-,...r, ••:
Council,the so-called district-only option is clearly one of, , ., ': i' ''-,;-0,_.; `I
the alternatives that.should be offered to the.voters for n
their approval or disapproval: • . •;
The district-only plan—'provides for nine. council • ,-
N.
members,.each elected from,a separate district. Each
district would be roughly equal in population:The council ', e
members would be elected for two-year terms. There ", ,
would be no more at-large members. .' ; - _ _ ._
The plan would go into' full effect in 1984, after a •/
reapportionment commission has drawn the boundaries, • -
of the nine districts'based on the results of the 1980 census: • •
In the meantime,-the nine council,members would be
elected from the four existing legislative districts: three
• from Hilo and two each from the other three districts. - , "•'f=.1'- --.0s •• 1
We say the district-only plan is the-'fairestt•for all the - • _',
people of this island for the following reasons: "` • , :
1.The district-only proposal most closely meets the one- r ' ` • • 4
man, one-vote standard established by the U.S. Supreme • ,,TM } ' • , • ` `:
Court. Under this;plan: the'vote of.every resident on the , , Pti
Big Island will carry nearly the same weight.
•2.•The district-only plan brings government closest to'' • - ,. r .:•4
the people: the smaller districts will give voters a better
chance to get to know the candidates and to-discuss-the -,4- ., • ,, a
issues with them. •' .,• , .• ,L '
•
3. The district-only plan will-malice the politicians more' �"�
' - ','"
accountable to the peoplo''beeause-all the'emincil menj-. , _ - 4 i
bers will face election every two years. • '
4.The district only plan will.make it possible for people. :•,:`:
without big organizations and large campaign treasuies '- -• '
rrw
to run for office with a reasonable hope of success,4; -
because the Small districts will permit the candidatesito" _`, •_
have personal visits and discussions with the voters. -
• `': •1
5.The district only plan will matte it.diEficult for special 1,1
interest groups to' control:the_candidates'•becau'se the - ' .!,. " )
4
districts will be small enough for candidates, to win ,
without the help of special interests. Moreover, if a ' ' . '<4',; • • $`=
candidate is aligned with a.special interest group, it u'..z-•"--":-. ,. • 4�
would be hard toconceal that•'fact i'ri•.a_small district '
where people are closer together'and'know more ab,otit
each other. The voters can then decide whether they ;
'c.
approve-Tor disapprove of any alliance a candidate may - , . ^ ,
have:wit+.-ai cial'i_nthredt'group•.:,''--' , ,, :?i�;., e" .�L.�.' ' •', ;r.,
6. In the council, the nine members would bargain-on" -•-f, • -fit `
projects for their separate districts from nearly equal
positions;•of political ,strength.' This plan`. does ;not ',;,.••;,.-- -, „ ;.,
guarantee fair results-none:of the plans'can do that.But •' s•
it does offer the best chance of•fair results•simply beca'usei - i •' ,: '
each member has about the same amount of clout, - r”
whereas the other plans-provide advantaged to council •x '•'
members'who are elected_from'larger;districts-or at
large or for longer terms. .._ R - •'" •2� .`Y.
7. The district-only plan is the only option that provides - '
for two-year terms-for all council members. This is. ` F
' '
particularly important in the coming years because the ` - •i• 1'
County Council will soon be given'the full authority to t43.•,_t' . • - ' '•
real property, which affects not just property owners but . '_
nearlyeveryresident. This ina'or increase in ower' 8•'
J P
should be accompanied.,by shorter terms, (the:present -+ • $ -,,;'y • Iti_::-'i
:council is elected for four ear erin t).so that the'oters '
Y t_ s . -r,
can exerci a iprereontrolover•tl�eir own taxe';. , . , . • : ' j
s:'The di sc;orr y,pl n i'sta+s.fair t,thio as rt.is to west' • lZ +
•',"-:'...A:
>;lawau:•It is a•4equitable today as it will be 50 years frpm f.;;
today because it,,gives nearly',equal.,weightto every vote• , •i-". • j:
P in the county. ,•,, ,p4 o a . : :s
-. , :We strongly urge the Charter Commission,which m'ust;-.'
make its final decision this week;`'to,put,the'distiitt�oury • s, • . • .,,,,
plaq,on the November ballot , ,. `
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