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LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF HONOLULU
 The League of Women Voters of Honolulu was founded in 1948 by Marion and Allan Saunders who knew that democracy thrives when citizens play an active role in elections and government oversight. In the more than 50 years since it was established, members of the Honolulu League have been actively involved in “making democracy work” on Oahu working on such issues as education, planning and zoning, transportation, environmental quality, campaign finance reform, prevention of domestic violence.
The Honolulu League has also provided voter services to the community by registering voters, assisting in vote counts, arranging and moderating campaign debates and forums, holding meetings and conferences on various public issues of the day and serving on State and City and County commissions and advisory committees.
The President of the Honolulu LWV is Ann Shaver. For more information on activities of the Honolulu League, please contact the League office at (808) 531-7448.
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From the Newsletters
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Ka Leo Hana - August 2006 Honolulu Chapter Report
Membership as of August 3, 2006 was 222. The Membership Committee is working to establish an accurate roster of League members state-wide. Notices will be sent out to members who are overdue in making their dues payments. Please support Teresa Lau with a prompt reply if you receive a letter from her.
Transportation: Honolulu has an established position opposing rail on Oahu. We plan to send letters to the Mayor and City Council reiterating this position.
Voter Service: Honolulu is partnering with Olelo Community Television, the Hawaii State Office of Elections, and the Hawaii Institute for Public Affairs to present Vote!2006 initiatives. Honolulu committee members will be calling candidates to offer assistance in using the Candidates in Focus service over Olelo. This service provides candidates the opportunity to tape a five-minute message that will air repeatedly over Olelo channel Focus 49.
The 2006 Membership Directory has been mailed out to members. If you have not received your copy, call the office for one. Address changes are already being received and several mailings have been returned due to incorrect address. Please remember to inform the League when you change contact information.
Piilani Kaopuiki,
President
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Ka Leo Hana - June 2006 Honolulu Chapter Report
Honolulu held its annual meeting at the Hale Koa Hotel in Waikiki on April 8. The program was dedicated to two outstanding League members who passed away earlier this year, Astrid Monson and Martha Black. Astrid was a retired professional city planner and was well-known throughout the community as a fierce champion of good planning and land use. Martha was the founder of the People's Water Conferences and was just as fiercely protective of Hawaii's water resources. Both women lived to be 93 years young.
The meeting's featured speaker was University of Hawaii professor Panos Prevadouros who presented the "Case Against Rapid Transit" to League members and guests.
Newly-elected officers include Piilani Kaopuiki, President, and Sue Miller, Vice-President. Robin Loomis was re-elected as Secretary and Malia Schwartz continues as Treasurer.
Honolulu continues following its areas of interest: Planning and
transportation, Honolulu charter amendment proposals, 2006 election voter
service, and affordable shelter initiatives. We welcome back Suzanne
Meisenzahl to active League participation. She leads in the area of
violence prevention, especially to women and children. In May the National
American Indian Housing Council sought the services of League to conduct an
election at its annual convention in Honolulu. In June we will complete an
election process for Ho'oponopono.
Piilani Kaopuiki,
President
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Ka Leo Hana - Spring 2006 Honolulu Chapter Report
Planning and Transportation have occupied the Honolulu League for the last several months. We asked A&B to present their proposal at our annual meeting in December. Stan Kuriyama was grilled as only League members can and it became clear that their issues are really with the vision of the Hawaii Community Development Authority. A&B was only responding to their proposal. HCDA wants to create a community in Kakaako where people can "live, work, and play." And they want it to be selfsupporting. Other people are okay with the "play" part but don't want any residences. They are also upset that State land would be sold. They have presented alternate proposals that would require state funding.
There are beaucoup bills in the Legislature to stop the project. Meanwhile, Governor Lingle supports the vision and might veto efforts to scuttle. Stay tuned.
Transportation also has hot issues. As noted in our last report, we polled our members on the update of the Oahu Regional Transportation Plan by obtaining and inserting a printed brochure and public survey in the Aloha Voter. Now the draft proposals are open for comments until March 15. Meanwhile, the analysis of alternative routes for rapid (or not-very-rapid) transit is proceeding. Route selection is guaranteed to lead to more contention!
Another front we are covering concerns the activities of the Honolulu Charter Commission as it sorts through the many proposals for change. Public meetings are scheduled for March and April
Jackie Parnell,
President
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Ka Leo Hana - Fall 2005 - Honolulu League Takes Up Housing
The Honolulu League adopted a motion requesting that the State League join the Affordable Housing and Homeless Alliance, a coalition of organizations and concerned individuals seeking to end homelessness and to assist people in maintaining their housing. The Alliance works with both tenant groups to organize and inform them of their rights, and with management companies and landlords to ensure that they are pursuing fait housing practices.
The chapter also sent a letter to Mayor Hannemann requesting that the City Asset Management Review Team include development of affordable shelter as one of their criteria for evaluating "best value and use" of city-owned property.
Opposing regressive tax
A letter was also sent to the Honolulu City Council opposing an increase in the excise tax as regressive taxation that would be most injurious to people on low and fixed incomes.
The Honolulu League is monitoring the city's Charter Commission, hoping it will strengthen the powers of the Ethics Commission.
Jackie Parnell
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Ka Leo Hana - Winter 2005 Honolulu Chapter Report
The major project for Honolulu in 2005 is following the work of the Honolulu Charter Commission. Our recommendations are focused on strengthening the City Ethics Commission by empowering it to levy civil fines for violation of the city's ethical standards and improving the way the commissioners are appointed by establishing an independent city body to submit nominees to the Mayor for appointment. This would ensure that ethics commissioners are selected in a manner that assures their independence and impartiality.
We also have requested that the Charter Commission consider removing the limitation on the use of the initiative process to levy taxes. We had earlier expressed our opposition to the one-half percent increase in the excise tax, not because it would be used for transit, but because it is regressive and will fall heaviest on the people who can least afford it. We think that registered voters should be allowed to have some control over taxes that affect their daily living costs.
Additionally, we support a proposal that one percent of all real property tax revenue taken in by the city each year should be dedicated to affordable housing programs and land protection (one-half percent for each). Similar proposals for land protection have been adopted by both Maui and Kauai.
Finally, we indicated that the Honolulu League would support a small increase in the number of council seats provided that the seats are at-large. Right now, all nine council members are elected by district.
Our annual meeting will be December 17 at the Hale Koa Hotel in Waikiki. It would be a great day to come to Honolulu to finish your Christmas shopping and join us for lunch. Our speaker will be from A & B Properties, making a presentation on the proposed development around Kewalo Basin, a subject that has become controversial. The hotel is always beautifully decorated for the holidays and worthy of a visit in itself. So please join us.
Jackie Parnell,
President
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Ka Leo Hana - Winter 2003 Local League News - Honolulu
Transportation was the topic at our December 13 membership meeting at the Pagoda Hotel. League's position on the Bus Rapid Transit plan was determined. Cliff Slater, well-known opponent of rail transit, and Kenneth Hamayasu of the Honolulu Transportation Services Department, were after lunch speakers.
We sent a letter to the City Council supporting the Sand Island sewage sludge digester as well as having testified in person. Some council members have told us our support was important since opposition has arisen.
Honolulu's positions are now accessible on the League's web page (hi.lwv.org).
We plan to partner with AARP and/or AAUW to put on a workshop on lobbying and related matters.
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Ka Leo Hana - Winter 2002 Local League News - Honolulu
Four members of the new Honolulu City council appeared before the planning meeting of the Honolulu Chapter on Dec. 14 at the Hale Koa Hotel: Charles Djou, Ann Kobayashi, Gary Okino and Rod Tam.
The city's budget deficit set the tone for much of the discussion. Ann Kobayashi reported that Mayor Jeremy Harris has said he would veto any proposal to increase the property tax. She therefore will not propose an increase and will wait for the mayor's "balanced budget."
The Bus Rapid Transit plan received little support from the four Council members. Two even talked of rail transit, which League successfully fought in the early 90's. A Leaguer later pointed out the disadvantages of rail, including lack of flexibility, high cost, and need to condemn urban property.
At the business meeting before lunch, Leaguers discussed monitoring the City Council by attending meetings and watching the live and taped feeds on channel 54. Population distribution on Oahu was the subject of prolonged and lively discussion. The consensus was to oppose changes to present plans that would have the effect of increasing population density in the urban core of Honolulu. As part of a statewide review of Community Access Television, Honolulu will form a committee to examine Olelo, Oahu's community access facility.
Pearl Johnson
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Ka Leo Hana - Fall 2002 Honolulu Chapter Report
The Honolulu chapter has prepared a voters guide to the City Council races. The September 21 primary election (in the future as this is being written) is extremely important because a council member can be elected outright at this time by obtaining only a majority of the votes cast. [Editor's note: Romy Cachola and Ann Kobayashi were so elected, as was Gary Okino who was unopposed.]
Four questions were sent to every candidate. Their responses to these questions are quite revealing and can provide real help in deciding whom to vote for. Anna Hoover, the editor of the Aloha Voter, did almost all the work on this project. The guide was mailed to Honolulu Leaguers in September.
The other big election project for Honolulu is the Democracy Net, which merits it own story (see page 1). We also helped Olelo Public Access Television with "Candidates in Focus," which taped 160 candidates who will get up to 7 minutes of free air time during September.
Pearl Johnson,
President
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Ka Leo Hana - Summer 2002 Local Chapter News Clips - Honolulu
Honolulu has a new Treasurer, Malia Schwartz. After long and faithful years as Honolulu's Treasurer, Annie Kim has resigned. Her work in that post was always exemplary, and she will be a very hard act to follow. We will miss her at the office, but hope she will drop in to see us when she can.
Welcome, and thank you, Malia. Honolulu continues its work on the bus rapid transit program.
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Ka Leo Hana - Spring 2002 Local League News - Honolulu
Honolulu continues to fight to keep agricultural land from being covered with houses by Castle and Cooke's Koa Ridge project in Central Oahu. Furthermore, we've taken on two other crusades: the bottle deposit bill and coastal erosion.
Representative Hermina Morita's bill HB 1256 is still in conference committee from last session. It would require a 5 cent deposit plus a 2 cent administrative fee on each beverage container-aluminum, glass or plastic. The conference committee deferred action last year to allow the beverage industry to craft an alternative. That alternative, unveiled last month, did nothing about the litter problem and imposed additional fees for curbside recycling by residents. Since this alternative is completely unacceptable, Honolulu wants to get the bill passed before the industry can get its misinformation campaign going to kill it. We arranged a radio appearance for Rep. Morita on Bob Rees's show on FM89.3 and AM1380. An email asked all members to call the legislature to express support.
The second crusade is to save our beaches. We will meet with the author of a coastal erosion management plan to discuss how League can help.
The Environment Committee plans an informational meeting with a Board of Water Supply expert to decide how to deal with anticipated future water problems.
Our next membership meeting will be on April 20 at the Hale Koa Hotel.
Pearl Johnson
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Ka Leo Hana - Fall 2002 Local League News - Honolulu
The Honolulu office has a new carpet, thanks to the Campbell Estate which agreed to provide it in return for our signing a new threeyear lease. This effort came to involve a reviewing of all our files, followed by considerable moving of furniture.
More recently, Charles Carole and I, plus a representative from the Mililani Neighborhood Board, and another from the Sierra Club, were on public radio on August 16. The topic was Castle & Cooke's request to the State Land Use Commission to re-zone 1200 acres from agricultural to urban use. Call-in's from the Castle & Cooke president, and an official of a land use research group representing developers, made for a lively exchange.
This was a part of our Planning and Zoning Committee tracking of two re-zoning applications by Castle & Cooke for Central Oahu. The Committee is also following developments related to the Ka Iwi Scenic Shoreline Parking Plan.
More than 50 members attended our annual meeting, at which Colbert Matsumoto spoke about his experiences related to the Bishop Estate. A highly attentive audience had a number of questions for him, and was impressed with his openness and candor.
Tentative plans for the Voter Information Committee are now in the brainstorming stage.
Pearl Johnson
President
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