By

POSTED: Sunday, October 19, 2008

Convention has pros and cons

State of confusion

Some say a Con Con will cost $40 million, when the last Con Con, in 1978, cost only $3 million. I'm not an accountant, so this is probably why I don't understand it all.

Then I am told that I can vote “;no”; on the Con Con two ways. One is by voting “;no”; and the other is by not checking any box on the ballot for or against Con Con.

Just think, if this Con Con voting method was applicable to the candidates, all we would have to do is go the polls and leave the box blank. What would happen then? Would this negate all those votes for the candidate? Why not? What's good for Con Con should be good for the candidates.

 

Optimists want convention

The Con Con debate on KGMB-TV on Oct. 14 was revealing.

The anti-Con Con debaters revealed they had a fear of voters electing Con Con delegates who would propose amendments that would be harmful to Hawaii.They extended that fear to voters who, they thought, would approve those amendments.

The pro-Con Con debaters thought it would be unlikely that Con Con delegates would propose harmful amendments. If proposed, they trusted voters to disapprove those amendments. Furthermore, they raised ideas for constitutional amendments that would benefit Hawaii in areas such as education, criminal justice and government efficiency.

Pessimists will vote against a Con Con. Optimists will vote in favor of it.

 

Native issues are federal

Since the last Constitutional Convention, we have found out that Hawaiian issues are not state issues. Stolen land, reparations and tribal issues are all federal issues.

The state has been “;holding the bag”; inappropriately.

If state taxpayers are paying back for “;harms,”; then native Hawaiian state taxpayers are paying themselves back (in part) for reparations and harms they themselves suffered. How inappropriate is that?

Constitutionally, these ancestor-based state handouts are not in harmony with equal rights protections fundamental to federal, state and local laws and constitutional requirements. Where is the equal rights, equal opportunity or equal protection under the law?

               

     

 

 

HOW TO WRITE US         We welcome letters of 175 words or less and guest columns of 500-600 words. We reserve the right to edit for clarity and length. Please include your name, address and daytime telephone number with all correspondence.         » E-mail: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)   » Mail: Letters to the Editor, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 7 Waterfront Plaza, 500 Ala Moana, Suite 210, Honolulu, HI 96813   » Fax: 808-529-4750

 

More letters…

How can Lingle dispute Obama's Hawaii ties?

Linda Lingle, Hawaii's Republican governor, is embarrassing and inaccurate when she suggests Sen. Barack Obama has limited ties to Hawaii (Star-Bulletin, Oct. 16).

The facts are irrefutable. Obama is a native son of Hawaii.

He was born in Hawaii.

He attended grade school in Honolulu.

He graduated from high school in Honolulu.

His mother and father were students at the University of Hawaii.

His mother, sister and brother-in-law all have Ph.D.s from the University of Hawaii.

His mother and grandfather both passed away in Hawaii.

His grandmother has lived in Hawaii for more than 40 years.

His sister and grandmother still live in Hawaii.

His niece was born in Hawaii.

His daughter has a Hawaiian first name.

Those of us fortunate enough to know Obama and his family are proud of Hawaii's native son and the man who soon will be elected to the highest office in the land.

Americans across this nation who have heard Obama speak and have observed his manner recognize that he represents the spirit of aloha.

 

Others died for your right to, so go vote!

I am 81 years old and have lived with 14 presidents since Harry Truman in 1947; been to two wars and a couple of revolutions. When I walk from the polls, I feel 10 feet tall. I have said my piece, regardless of my champion. I am a citizen and have exercised my right as a few others are able. Untold others have earned this for me. So VOTE, do not be doormat! You are entitled, win or lose.

 

Shields can help bring hospital to Maui

As a Lahaina resident, it's unacceptable not to have an emergency access hospital. I have been watching citizen groups work so hard to make it happen, only to be knocked down by the antiquated Certificate of Need process. It is disheartening. The state Legislature promised to vote to abolish the Certificate of Need and then it didn't do so. This has got to change. Political games need to stop. Our lives are at stake.

Only when the Certificate of Need is abolished will we have a say in getting what we need. Top-quality, nongovernment hospitals want to bring state-of-the-art care to Maui, but they are well-acquainted with our Certificate of Need albatross and want nothing to do with it. They are waiting for things to change. They are hoping things will change after the election.

Voters need to educate themselves about which candidates know that the Certificate of Need process has to be abolished.

Jan Shields is one of these wise candidates. She and Dr. Kwon fought for Malulani. Malulani is not dead, it has just evolved. Shields has written a bill that will abolish the Certificate of Need. She submitted it, but it never saw the light of day with our present senators. With Shields in the Senate District 5 seat, only then will it happen.

 

Lower GET would help more than rail

In this time of economic uncertainty, the city administration should help everyone by doing away with the general excise tax increase. The state should seriously consider reducing the general excise tax a half-percent. This could kick-start our economy.

As for construction projects and federal aid, the city is under a federal mandate to upgrade the Sand Island and Honouliuli sewage facilities. They probably stand a better chance to get federal funds for these projects than for a fixed rail. The problem of traffic on the Leeward side could be alleviated by having a Superferry transport cars from Barbers Point to Honolulu Harbor. For a fraction of the cost of the fixed rail, the city could buy and operate a Superferry, providing jobs, income and incredible gas savings for the people of the Leeward coast.

 

More lanes would mean more concrete, toxins

Tires on concrete? More toxic tire dust particles to inhale? More concrete roads to suffocate our gentle little island?

Ms. Kobayashi, please reveal to the voters more about your plans for mass transit before election night. So far it's all Greek to me!

I'm still hoping for a little train with just a couple of steel tracks to take us around the island—eventually! What's wrong with steel? It's solid enough to cook with. It's solid, no contamination, no pollution, no toxic tire dust.

 

Give charter schools equal pupil funding

While both presidential candidates have endorsed charter schools as a key tool for greater public school reform, these independently managed public schools continue to encounter official resistance in many U.S. localities. In his Oct. 5 Gathering Place column, Curtis Muraoka described in vivid detail how Hawaii lawmakers have slashed funding for charter schools far more than they have for the state education bureaucracy, despite the fact that charter enrollment is growing briskly.

One hopes for an outbreak of fairness that will result in money flowing equitably to children in schools their parents choose for them. However, it is worthy of note that when Maryland charter school supporters tired of forever being grossly shortchanged, they took their case to court. In July 2007, that state's highest court held that the charter schools are entitled to per-pupil funding equal to that of regular public schools.

Perhaps that precedent is worth keeping in mind in Hawaii.

 

Each group could change Constitution

We need a Con Con because it only comes every 10 years by law, so if we have to spend the money that the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Legislature waste every year it will still be a bargain at whatever price. Ask yourself, what is the price of freedom, and what is the price of your vote? We all could use that money to do better things for the Hawaiian people. People would then have a real voice because the Hawaiian people would be able to gather signatures and get their referendum on the ballot for change.

A Con Con is a good thing for people of other nationalities, who also should be able to gather signatures and place items on the ballot when the Legislature will not act on the people's voice. The Con Con would allow the people to fix our schools at much less cost. The unions have the power to maintain the status quo.

A Con Con would force the Legislature to listen to the people. Con Con is a “;yes.”;

 

Unicameral Legislature would save money

Some of the entrenched people in Hawaii don't want a Con Con, claiming it would cost too much. So let's un-trench some of them and save the taxpayers a bundle. We can start by establishing a unicameral Legislature.

Abolishing the state Senate will not only save money, it will put a stop to the blame game between the House and Senate that obfuscates the legislative process every year. Nebraska operates well with only one legislative body. Even merrie olde England has reduced the House of Lords to a legislative non-entity and the House of Commons does just fine without the Lords mucking things up.

Of course, some senators might object to losing their jobs, but we don't need to keep paying their salaries and perks when our representatives in the House can do the job just as well. The cost of a Con Con will be well worth it in the long run.

 

Con Con could take up legislative term limits

George Will's piece in last Sunday's Star-Bulletin on term limits was timely in view of our upcoming vote on having a Con Con. It is interesting to review the history of term limits for candidates in Hawaii.

Since 1951, by Amendment No. 22 to the U.S. Constitution, the president has been limited to two terms. The Congress has no term limits.

Since the 1978 Hawaii Con Con, the governor of Hawaii has been limited to two terms. The state Legislature has no term limits.

Since 1992, the Honolulu mayor and City Council have been limited to two terms because a City Charter Commission (similar to a Con Con) proposed that amendment to the City Charter and it was approved by the voters.

Term limits could be imposed on our Legislature by two methods. The Legislature could propose an amendment to the Hawaii Constitution and put it on the ballot. Or a Con Con could propose such an amendment and place it on the ballot.

Term limits for the Legislature might or might not be desired by a majority of the voters, but this is a legitimate subject for debate at a Con Con.