Common Cause Hawaii Opposes Proposed Honolulu Charter Amendment Question 19

    Media Contact
  • Corie Tanida

For Immediate Release: October 12, 2016

Media Contact:
Corie Tanida, 275-6275, hawaii@commoncause.org


 Common Cause Hawaii Opposes Proposed Honolulu Charter Amendment Question 19

(Honolulu, HI) – As Oahu voters prepare to vote on 20 Honolulu Charter amendment proposals, Common Cause Hawaii encourages the public to vote “no” on Question 19. This proposal asks “Should the requirement be repealed that no more than five of the City Council Reapportionment Commission’s nine members be from the same political party?”

According to Corie Tanida, executive director of Common Cause Hawaii, “Removing this provision of the charter would make it easier to manipulate Honolulu City Council elections by removing a safeguard that helps to ensure fairness.”

Currently reapportionment commissioners are appointed by the council chair with the full council’s approval. A maximum of five of the nine commissioners can belong to the same party.

“By eliminating the provision, potentially all nine members of the County’s Reapportionment Commission could come from the same party and draw district lines to benefit said party and their candidates,” said Tanida. “Voters should select their lawmakers, not the other way around.”

Supporters of the proposal contend that this requirement is no longer needed since county races are nonpartisan.

“While the races are nonpartisan, the candidates are not and their affiliations with parties are well-known,” said Tanida. “If this proposal passes, the foxes will guard the henhouse and one party could use its power to turn City Council redistricting into one more partisan political battleground instead of ensuring fair representation for our communities.”


Common Cause Hawaii is a state chapter of the national Common Cause organization. Common Cause is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to protecting and improving Hawaii’s political process and holding government accountable to the public interest. For more information, please visit hi.commoncause.org

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