Some civic salary
Let me get this straight. A county council member makes $70,000 a year? At 40 hours a week (considered full-time) 52 weeks a year, that’s $33.65 an hour.
Next question: Where do I sign up?
Kathryn Yasuda
Holualoa
They signed up for it
I read about the council members who had to put aside their regular occupations to take care of their constitutes needs. What a shame that even though they are getting paid a salary of $70,000, they are crying over having to give up their regular work.
Most of the members don’t do their elected jobs anyway but ignore the wishes of their constituents. Only a handful respond to emails and do what is asked of them. Most of us regular citizens don’t even make half of what these folks are getting paid in salary so I don’t see them as having to face any hardships over being elected to the council.
They chose to run and now that they are in, they should all stop complaining and do their job.
Colleen Wallis
Kailua-Kona
Angels are real
I met an angel!
I’m an 84-year-old lady who lives in Kawaihae Village. I drove to the Minit Stop for gas and to mail a letter. When I tried to start my car to return home, the key would not work and the horn went off and wouldn’t stop.
I didn’t know what to do. My health was shaky and I was too weak to take care of myself. A young man came to my door and asked if I needed help. He and his brother tried everything to turn off the horn. My angel knew I was sick and offered to drive me home. He gathered several strong men and pushed my car into the handicapped parking place.
He spoke to my AAA roadside service for me. Then he returned to Minit Stop to be with the car. Later, he and the tow person returned to my house. He returned my keys and said they fixed my car and I didn’t have to have it towed to Lex Brodie’s. He parked my car in my slot at my home. He took care of everything! Angels are real!
Faith Elaine Fitzpatrick
Waimea
Elect better-qualified
council members
The County Charter Commission, by a 6-3 vote, has endorsed extending council member terms to four years. One of the reasons cited by proponents within the Charter Commission is “the learning curve is so great it takes the first two years just to get a good grasp of the issues. Council members are just getting their feet on the ground when it’s time to go out and campaign.”
Surely, the Charter Commission members don’t believe their own rhetoric? Expressed in a slightly different way, what the term extension proponents are saying is: “County council members are either too stupid or too disinterested to learn their jobs within two years and become effective legislators!”
The answer to this problem must be to elect more capable and qualified representatives who can meet the intellectual challenge of learning their jobs within two years and debating and enacting effective legislation, not extending the training period.
Two-year terms serve the public interest. Voters can evaluate the performance and capabilities of representatives. Effective legislators will be re-elected. Those representatives who cannot meet the challenges of their job — for whatever reason — will be directed by the voters to seek employment elsewhere.
Kenneth Beilstein
Kailua-Kona
