Comm No 0003.02.01 - Ad Hoc Committee Report - Section 3-2 Composition and Terms of Council Members

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CHARTER COMMISSION AD HOC COMMITTEE REPORT ON ARTICLE III SECTION 3-2 October 25, 2018 Page 1 of 3 Committee Members Sally (Sarah) Rice Chair William C. Bergin, DVM Kevin Hopkins Bobbi Jean Leithead-Todd Section 3-2. Composition The members of the Ad Hoc Committee discussed the composition of the Hawaii County Council (i.e., one member elected from each of the 9 districts) and agreed that at this time no changes were required to the composition as it is presently structured. Chairman Adams proposal to clarify the language to elect one member per district is already under consideration. Although this is not a Charter matter, it was commented on that during the 2020 reapportionment process an analysis should be undertaken of the Ka'u Council representation since Ka'u is currently combined with South Kona. Since South Kona has different constituent characteristics than Ka'u, Ka'u might be better represented by inclusion in the Hilo or Puna districts. Section 3-2. Terms The Charter states that "the terms of the Council members shall be two years and ..." A plurality of our committee recommended changing the terms to four years elected on a staggered cycle but retaining the eight-year consecutive term limit (i.e. 2 four-year consecutive terms). There are good arguments for retaining the two-year terms that were discussed: • The main benefit outlined by committee members was the ability to remove a poorly functioning Council person more quickly through the election process with a two-year term. • A two-year term can have the effect of making a Council person pay more attention to the requirements and problems of his/her district since the ensuing election occurs rapidly. • A two-year term can be conducive to more citizen participation with the electorate paying more attention to the quick election cycle, and possibly getting more candidates running for election. 1 Comm. No. 3.2.1