City boundaries
By B.J. Reyes
The City Council has named its nominees for the nine members who will redraw the island’s nine Council districts to reflect the changing population.
Under the city and county charter, the Council is required to name its own Reapportionment Commission by July 1. The nine appointed members have until Jan. 2, 2012 to submit a reapportionment plan to the City Clerk.
The nine members shall be selected “by the Presiding Officer of the City Council with the approval of the City Council, with no more than a majority of the members of the commission being from the same political party.”
Resolution 11-162, introduced this week, names the following nine nominees:
• Rodney Funakoshi
• Reynaldo “Rey” Graulty
• C. Mike Kido
• Kerry Komatsubara
• Albi Mateo
• John Monis
• Anel “Tito” Montes
• Nathan Okubo
• Arthur Park
The chairman of the commission is to be elected among the nine members.
The resolution is to be discussed Monday in the Executive Matters & Legal Affairs Committee.
Meanwhile, the state Reapportionment Commission is well under way with it’s work. The next meeting is set for Tuesday, May 24. Agenda is HERE.
Political Radar
May 21st, 2011 at 11:58 am
When the State Reapportionment Commission members were first appointed, I noted how the Democrats had appointed people with broader government experience and community experience, while the GOP had put in explicit Republican party officers, including their none-too-subtle Executive Director, Dylan Nonaka. (I have since learned that two of the “Democratic” appointees are not even formal members of the party. I guess active partisanship was a low priority in deciding the appointment for the Speaker and the Senate President).
There will be plenty of opportunities for shenanigans in redistricting at both the city and state level. But the biggest prize, and the biggest temptation for gerrymandering, is with the congressional district lines.
At present, the voting preferences of the two CDs is quite balanced when we look at “top of the ticket” votes cast in the 2010 Governor’s race and the 2008 presidential race. Voters went for Abercrombie and Obama in about the same proportions in both CDs.
Look out for an effort by the GOP to radically re-draw the CD lines to shift Republican voters from the Second CD into the First, trying to create a “tailor-made” district Charles Djou can win. They will sacrifice their chance of winning the Second congressional seat for another decade in order to increase their chances in the First.
For the Republicans to succeed, the gerrymandering would have to be extremely obvious. But Nonaka has already shown a willingness to be “bold” in his partisanship. (Or, put another way, has shown “he has no shame” when promoting GOP partisan interests.)
I hope I am wrong. But let’s watch closely.
May 21st, 2011 at 12:56 pm
it’s?
May 23rd, 2011 at 11:04 am
The list of nominees Reapportionment Commission does not represent equality.
Inasmuch as the population of the City & County is more than 800,000, I believe that the City Council Chair could have selected more than one woman. Honolulu has thousands of talented, smart, experienced women, who are skilled and knowledgeable about the City & County Charter and the mechanics of the Reapportionment process.
Therefore, I feel that the course of action in selecting the nominees should be postponed until more women have been chosen.