News Clips

Not providing the public with the option to testify via remote access at the April 23, 2020 hearing is illogical, especially when your Committee’s April 23, 2020 Agenda specifically provides that “[s]ome committee members may be participating in the meeting by interactive conference technology from remote locations.” More than illogical, the Committee is endangering the health and safety of the public by having the public attend in-person your Committee hearing. The people should not have to decide between their personal welfare and civic engagement. Your Committee (and the entire Council) should value transparency, ethics, and public participation and the health, safety, and welfare of your constituents and our community. As your Committee permits its members to participate remotely in the April 23, 2020 meeting, the Committee obviously values its own members’ health and safety; it needs to value the public’s to a similar extent.

Common Cause Hawaii is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, grassroots organization dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy. Transparency in government is key to a healthy and strong democracy. Common Cause Hawaii provides the below comments regarding the April 16, 2020 Salary Commission Agenda.

As the Hawaii Economic and Community Recovery & Resiliency Navigator, Common Cause Hawaii respectfully asks you to keep transparency and accountability as tenets in planning for Hawaii’s revival. Meetings of your special task force should be conducted according to Sunshine Law, and all documents and records should be subject to Public Records Law.

Common Cause Hawaii is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, grassroots organization dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy. Transparency in government is key to a healthy and strong democracy. Common Cause Hawaii provides the below comments regarding the April 15, 2020 City Council Public Hearing.

Thank you for taking the time to write to me regarding transparency and democracy during the COVID-19 crisis. Please know that many of your concerns were carefully considered prior to the decision to temporarily suspend certain requirements of the State’s Sunshine Law, part 1 of chapter 92, Hawai‘i Revised Statutes (HRS). While I agree that transparency is of utmost importance, the ability of government to function at all during a pandemic of the unprecedented sort we currently face is also critical and all possible flexibility in this regard must be provided to government entities.

Common Cause Hawaii is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, grassroots organization dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy. Transparency in government is key to a healthy and strong democracy. Common Cause Hawaii provides comments regarding the transparency of the April 2, 2020 General Business Meeting of the Board of Education (Board) and specifically Agenda Item III, Board Action on temporary rules of operation to conduct virtual board meetings.