Council could
lose a handy
old dodge

Hannemann proposes ending
the use of the word kanalua
in the voting process

By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Star-Bulletin

The long-standing practice of uttering "kanalua" during a vote may be a thing of the past at the Honolulu City Council.

Council Chairman Mufi Hannemann said yesterday he is proposing a change in Council rules to streamline the voting process.

Kanalua, literally translated, means "to doubt."

Traditionally in local politics, voicing kanalua is regarded as a pass to the end of a roll-call vote. If it is repeated, it is counted as a "yes" vote in the final tally.

Members of the state Legislature, the City Council and county councils have for years used kanalua as:

A means of waiting to see how others vote before casting their own decision.

A symbol that they have reservations about legislation but would vote for it anyway.

Hannemann said when he first got on the Council, he thought kanalua meant abstention -- until he looked in a Hawaiian dictionary.

"I just don't see the purpose of it," Hannemann said.

Adding that he's never voted kanalua in his four years as a city legislator, he said: "It allows Council members to duck, to pass, on the first round to see how other members are voting."

Council members should be clear in how they're voting, he said. Doing away with kanalua would result in "streamlining and cutting to the chase," he said.

Members can still voice their reservations about particular bills, or be absent when a vote is taken, he said.

"I've seen people walk out of the room," he said.

Another rule change Hannemann wants his colleagues to consider would allow committee chairs to send legislation to the Council floor with the concurrence of the Council chair.

Currently, a majority of members of the Council must approve the waiver.

"You won't have to scurry around for five signatures," he said.

Both rule changes will be considered by the Council at its inaugural session Jan. 2.

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Chairman issues
new City Council
panel assignments

Hannemann gives Bainum
and Holmes fewer than the others

By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Star-Bulletin

Council Chairman Mufi Hannemann has issued new committee assignments that further reduce the authority of dissident members Duke Bainum and Steve Holmes.

Both will have fewer committee assignments under Hannemann's structure. Bainum will sit on four committees, while Holmes will sit on three.

In contrast, Councilwoman Rene Mansho will sit on all nine committees, and Councilman John Henry Felix will sit on six.

Members John DeSoto, Donna Mercado Kim, Andy Mirikitani and Jon Yoshimura also will be members of six committees.

Members will be voting on the assignments at a Jan. 2 Council session.

Hannemann technically sits only on the Executive Matters and Economic Development Committee, which he chairs. But he is allowed to cast votes in any committee that needs to fill a quorum.

Hannemann denied that punitive action is being taken against Bainum and Holmes.

"It's in recognition that seven Council members want to work as part of a team," he said. "Steve and Duke want to work on the outside, and that's their choice."

He added that he is "going to continue to reach out" to the other members and wants them to participate equally in a project to survey city employees on ways to improve services and reduce the budget.

The proposed assignments are:

Budget and Public Works: Felix, chairman; Kim, Mansho, Mirikitani, Yoshimura.
Cultural Affairs: Holmes, chairman; Bainum, DeSoto, Felix, Mansho.
Customer Services: Bainum, chairman; Holmes, Kim, Mansho, Mirikitani.
Executive Matters and Economic Development: Hannemann, chairman; Felix, Kim, Mansho, Yoshimura.
Parks, Health and Community Services: Mansho, chairwoman; Bainum, DeSoto, Mirikitani, Yoshimura.
Planning: DeSoto, chairman; Felix, Kim, Mansho, Yoshimura.
Policy: Yoshimura, chairman; all other Council members.
Transportation: Mirikitani, chairman; DeSoto, Felix, Mansho, Yoshimura.
Zoning: Kim, chairwoman; DeSoto, Felix, Mansho, Mirikitani.