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Kokua Line
Question: Why is it that, for the Board of Education, those of us on Oahu are able to vote for all four districts -- Honolulu, Central, Leeward and Windward? It's the same for Office of Hawaiian Affairs candidates. Even though they are designated by islands and some are running at-large, we're able to vote for everybody. Why aren't these candidates all running on an at-large basis instead of islands or districts? Explaining BOE,
OHA election districtsAnswer: The state Constitution calls for geographic representation, but the way the local boundaries are set, the basic principal of one-person, one vote wouldn't be met by allowing people to vote strictly by islands or districts.
We were directed by one political observer to Anne Feder Lee's book, "The Hawaii State Constitution: A Reference Guide," for an explanation.
In her section on the Board of Education, Lee noted that delegates to the 1978 Constitutional Convention "did not want to change the basic principle of BOE representation based on geography, a concept incorporated in the Statehood Constitution. But they were very aware of the need to meet one person-one vote districting guidelines because a 1970 opinion of the attorney general had concluded that the BOE districts were malapportioned and that the Legislature had failed to take corrective action."
In the end, the ConCon "devised an election framework resulting in a system best characterized as confusing to the voters," Lee wrote.
Two at-large BOE districts were constitutionally established -- Oahu (the City and County of Honolulu) as one and the neighbor islands, together, as the other. The Legislature determines the "departmental" districts within each at-large district, allowing for periodic adjustments as the population shifts, Lee explained. At least one member must reside in each departmental district.
The Legislature has set the number of BOE members at 13 and specified by statute that 10 members are to be elected at-large from the Oahu district, with one member residing in each of the four departmental districts. Three members are to be elected at-large from the neighbor island district, with each residing in one of the three departmental districts.
The same philosophy holds for the OHA candidates.
Q: Is there a law that states that a vehicle cannot enter an intersection if that vehicle does not clear the crosswalk and intersection? On Monday, Oct. 2, at 5:10 p.m., at the intersection of Piikoi and King, a woman driving a dirt-colored Lexus 300 kept honking her horn at me to proceed forward on a green signal when the lane I was in was backed up, which would have caused my car to be in the crosswalk. What should I have done in this case?
A: Short of getting out and tossing the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu at her, you did right.
Honolulu police Maj. Jeffrey Owens, of the Traffic Division, cites Section 15-12.2 of the Revised Ordinances: "No driver of a vehicle shall enter an intersection or a marked or unmarked crosswalk unless there is sufficient space on the other side ... to accommodate the vehicle ... without obstructing the passage of other vehicles or pedestrians, notwithstanding any traffic control signal indication to proceed."
As for such honking drivers, just try to ignore them.
"Don't allow that person's impatience to force you into doing something that is illegal and dangerous," Owens said.
Need help with problems? Call Kokua Line at 525-8686,
fax 525-6711, or write to P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu 96802.
Email to kokualine@starbulletin.com