HILO — Commissioners who create County Council districts would be barred from running in those districts for at least one election cycle after the lines are drawn, under a charter amendment the council Governmental Relations Committee is scheduled to hear
HILO — Commissioners who create County Council districts would be barred from running in those districts for at least one election cycle after the lines are drawn, under a charter amendment the council Governmental Relations Committee is scheduled to hear today.
The bill is sponsored by Kohala Councilman Pete Hoffmann, and it’s sparked in part by the announcement by two members of the Redistricting Commission that they will be running for County Council this year. Hoffmann is term-limited, and he said that makes him a good sponsor for the charter amendment.
Members of the county Redistricting Commission are not barred from running for election in the district they just created. Commissioners on the state Reapportionment Commission, which draws maps for the state Legislature and Congress, are not allowed to run for election to those seats for four years.
The commissions are created once every decade to redraw legislative boundaries equalizing the population in the districts following the decennial.
“All nine redistricting commissioners could legally run for County Council,” Hoffmann said. “I have no reason to suspect they wouldn’t be good council members if elected. But that’s not really the question.”
Hoffmann worries about the perception of a conflict of interest, especially because the Redistricting Commission, in drawing council maps for the next decade, gave great leeway to the district representatives to draw the lines, saying they knew their communities best.
Bill 192 will be heard by the Governmental Relations Committee at 3:30 p.m. in council chambers in Hilo. The public can also participate via videoconference from the West Hawaii Civic Center, Waimea or Pahoa council offices.
Charter amendments need a two-thirds vote three times by the council before they’re added to the ballot.
Both commissioners who are running say they didn’t plan on running for County Council when they agreed to be on the Redistricting Commission — and both said they didn’t see it as a conflict of interest.
Dru Mamo Kanuha is planning to run for the newly created County Council District 7, representing downtown Kailua Village and the Kona area from roughly Kainaliu north to Kona’s Old Airport. The seat for the district formerly known as South Kona is wide open, as redrawing the map has moved incumbent Councilwoman Brenda Ford to an expanded Ka’u/South Kona District 6.
“It sparked an interest,” Kanuha said of being on the Redistricting Commission. “There’s a whole new council coming up on this island and it’s exciting to be part of it.”
Redistricting Commissioner Valerie Poindexter has pulled nomination papers to run in Hamakua’s District 1, being vacated by Council Chairman Dominic Yagong’s decision to run for mayor.
In other committee and council action scheduled this week:
The council Committee on Human Services, Social Services & Public Safety at 8 a.m. today will hear a report from the Police Department on its take-home police radio policy at Ford’s request.
The Finance Committee at 10 a.m. will hear reports on the county’s Fair Share policy for developers, as well as a report from the legislative auditor on her annual audit plan.
A variety of bills and resolutions dealing with the Food Basket will be considered by the County Council on Friday. Bill 199, in particular, sponsored by Hoffmann, will declare a public health emergency and appropriate $200,000 to alleviate hunger. Bill 170 by Ford transfers $500,000 out off the Disaster & Emergency Fund for the Food Basket.
Resolution 299 by Yagong takes $75,000 out of the legislative auditor’s budget for the Food Basket, and Resolution 220 by Hilo Councilman Dennis Onishi takes $75,000 out of the clerk-council services budget for the Food Basket.
