October 1972

Home   Newsletters November 1972

December 1972

November Calendar Vote "YES" on Charter Revision, "YES" on Option Two Units - Land Use Thoughts from the President (Dee Lum) November 7 - What Your Vote Means... Garbage Bag Community Announcements Voters Service Latest Scoop on Housing Crisis Foreign Trade, a Sinking Ship Universal Declaration of Human Rights - 1948 - 1968 United Nations Wrap-up (Melvia Kawashima) Facts and Figures in Brief Right of Privacy (Barbara Nobriga) Report on... The Youth Mystique Report on the League from National Welcome these New Members Those Who Have Helped Us Roster of Qualified Women

Vote "YES" on Charter Revision, "YES" on Option Two VOTE "YES" ON CHARTER REVISION VOTE "YES" ON OPTION TWO The League of Women Voters has remained the Charter's friend for many years. We plan to stay that way. Do your bit by reviewing the study information, the consensus on the Charter and planning and knowing the League's position on the mix council (see the flyer on the reverse side) so that you can help your family, neighbors and friends understand the reasons for voting yes for the Charter and for voting yes for Option 2. If you want extra copies of the flyer to pass our call the office quickly!   HONOLULU VOTERS will decide on November 7th whether or not to accept the proposed Charter for the City and County as drafted by the Charter Review Commission. This commission, whose thirteen members volunteered hundreds of hours of time, has submitted a revised Charter which the League of Women Voters strongly supports. The revision creates a better balance between the Mayor and the Council, gives citizens a greater voice in decision-making, and provides long-range city planning based on social, economic, environmental and design goals. THE BALLOT ASKS the voter to vote "yes" or "no" on the new Charter and gives him two options on the apportionment plan for the City Council. Option One provides for a nine-member council, each member to be elected by district. Option Two provides for a nine-member council, five of whom will be elected by district and four of whom will be elected at-large. The voter has been given these two alternatives because the Charter Review Commission could not reach a majority decision. The League studied Council apportionment for several years and understands very well the difficulty in reaching consensus on the subject. OUR STUDY began with a review of three apportionment plans -- all at-large, combination of at-large and district, and all district. League members immediately rejected the all-district concept primarily because the voter would be electing only one member of the Council. No member of the Council would have to be responsive to the wishes of any voter outside of his own district. Since all legislation is determined by a majority vote of the Council, the influence an individual citizen can have is negligible when he can vote for only one Council member. Also, mainland experience has shown that the "ward" system is conducive to pork-barreling which means expensive and inefficient government. Honolulu would be taking a step backward in affirming the all-district system recently imposed upon us by the State Legislature. Any difficulty League members had in reaching a decision on apportionment came in choosing between an at-large Council or a combination Council. Political scientists generally favor at-large representation for municipal governments. Oahu voters, however, have historically indicated a preference for some form of district representation combined with at-large representation. Consensus among League members after thorough study was that this combination of at-large and district councilmen best served the interests of the city and county by providing a balance between local and general interest issues. With the combination plan offered in Option Two, each voter will vote for five Council members, a majority of the Council. The voter will have a district councilman concerned with local problems and four at-large councilmen to consider the needs of ALL of Oahu. THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS STRONGLY URGES A "YES" VOTE ON THE CHARTER REVISION AND A "YES" VOTE ON OPTION TWO AS THE BEST MEANS OF PROVIDING GOOD GOVERNMENT FOR THE CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU.

October 1972

Top   Home   Newsletters

December 1972