Editorials
Friday, April 20, 2001
RACIAL gerrymandering is unconstitutional, but the U.S. Supreme Court has made clear that race does not necessarily have to be ignored in defining legislative districts. The court's upholding of lines drawn for a long-disputed congressional district in North Carolina should provide relief to state legislators across the country as they prepare to revamp districts to reflect the 2000 census. Supreme Court says
race can be factor
when redistrictingThe issue: The U.S. Supreme
Court has ruled that race can
be considered when states
make redistricting decisions.The high court has examined the snakelike 12th Congressional District in North Carolina for the past eight years, ruling in 1993 and again in 1996 that it amounted to racial gerrymandering in violation of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In their latest attempt at approval, state officials maintained that their overriding consideration was political, not racial, aimed at ensuring an even balance of Democrats and Republicans in North Carolina's 12 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
This time the justices agreed, by a 5-4 vote, that a new districting plan drawn up in 1997 was based on political more than racial considerations, although the two are related in North Carolina, where more than 95 percent of black voters support Democratic candidates. Justice Stephen G. Breyer wrote in the majority opinion that lines drawn along what appear to be racial lines are justified where "racial identification is highly correlated with political affiliation."
The ruling is not a reversal of the court's principle but rather an application of principles adopted in earlier cases to the new set of circumstances in North Carolina. However, it should make clear to state legislators that decisions that recognize racial patterns are not necessarily unconstitutional.
While the ruling probably will have little effect in racially diverse Hawaii, members of the state Reapportionment Commission, which will convene May 1, will be able to dismiss any concerns about racial overtones in their redistricting process. They should focus instead on eliminating gerrymandering efforts that the Supreme Court might find constitutional but that those desiring a two-party system will find unacceptable.
Ideally, district lines should be drawn on the basis of a congruity of both geography and community interest without regard to race or political incumbency. The Supreme Court's validation of the latter does not mean it would be in Hawaii's best interest.
The city and the community are considering ways to make Kaukonahua Road a safer thoroughfare but so far they seem to be asking the wrong question. It's not the road that causes accidents or, in a recent tragedy, the deaths of three young people. Only responsible driving can lessen the dangers on any highway. Only drivers can
make Kaukonahua saferThe issue: In the wake of eight
fatal accidents on Kaukonahua
Road since February, ways are
being sought to reduce the danger.Kaukonahua is a narrow, two-lane blacktop that winds through rural central Oahu, one of the few remaining roads on the island that are basically paved cow paths. Trees and guardrails along its sides leave drivers little room for error. Its scenic views of the Koolaus on one side and the Waianae mountains on the other also can divert a driver's attention. Its isolation tempts speeders and scofflaws.
The city's transportation director, Cheryl Soon, suggests that the speed limit on the road could be lowered from 45 mph to 35 mph, that passing be banned along its length or that rumble strips be placed in areas where the most accidents have occurred. A more costly alternative would be to straighten its curves. Others have suggested that the road be patrolled more often to enforce existing traffic rules. None of these ideas, however, would appear to offer much hope of reducing the number of accidents along that road.
Building roads is science, one that's advanced in our automobile society. When designing highways, engineers consider myriad needs for safety, from surface textures to the angle of banking for different speeds and weather conditions. So there's no doubt that reworking Kaukonahua could make it safer.
What cannot be engineered, however, is the driver, the person behind the wheel who can choose to be responsible or not. That is where attention should be directed, and urgently.
Published by Oahu Publications Inc., a subsidiary of Black Press.Don Kendall, President
John Flanagan, publisher and editor in chief 529-4748; jflanagan@starbulletin.com
Frank Bridgewater, managing editor 529-4791; fbridgewater@starbulletin.com
Michael Rovner, assistant managing editor 529-4768; mrovner@starbulletin.com
Lucy Young-Oda, assistant managing editor 529-4762; lyoungoda@starbulletin.com The Honolulu Star-Bulletin (USPS 249460) is published daily by
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