Carolyn Haley, a network computing consultant, took off from work Thursday afternoon to go to the state Capitol to testify.
Haley, a Kapahulu resident, learned only Wednesday that her state House representative would no longer represent her — something Haley wasn’t happy about.
“What were you thinking?” she asked the 2011 Reapportionment Commission. “Can you fix this so we can keep Scott? We’ve had him since 2002, and he’s the best representative we’ve ever had.”
After Haley testified, she received a single question from the commission.
“Scott who?” asked Harold Masumoto.
“Scott Nishimoto,” Haley replied. “District 21.”
You can’t blame Masumoto for asking the question. The commission was dealing with its third set of maps in just two months, and it can be difficult to keep track of all the changes.
On Thursday, the commission unanimously approved the third — now final — set of maps.
It’s the set that forces two incumbent Oahu senators to potentially run against each other this year. It requires the same of five sets of Oahu incumbents — they include Scott Nishimoto against Scott Saiki — in the House and another pair on the Big Island.
“You do the best you can with what you have,” said commission chair Victoria Marks. “Quite frankly, I am very proud of my fellow commissioners. … They listend to everyone. Certainly, not everyone is happy, but that’s just where the chips fall. The maps are as good as they are going to get.”
Campaign Filings Now Welcome
Though the 14 lawmakers impacted by reapportionment are understandably upset — there is still talk of a lawsuit on behalf of House dissidents opposed to the rule of Speaker Calvin Say — it was clear that the commission and staff were relieved to have settled on maps.
At the last minute, however, it was almost was delayed again.
Commissioners could not agree on which state Senate seats would receive a two-year term instead of the normal four years in order that terms be staggered. (House members have two-year terms).
Fortunately, commission staff David Rosenbrock and Royce Jones were prepared for the deadlock, having drawn up an alternative plan in advance.
The commission quickly accepted it, giving 12 Senate seats — Districts 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 12, 16, 17, 18, 21, 23 and 24 — two years before they have to run again and the other 13 four-year terms. In 2014, the districts that were truncated this time around will go back to four-year terms, too.
Commission staff were expected to file the reapportionment plan late Thursday with the State Elections Office, which has 14 days to publish the plan and until the end of the month to report it to the Hawaii Legislature.
But candidates can begin pulling campaign papers and filing them as early as Friday morning.
Commissioner Elizabeth Moore, who could not attend Thursday’s hearing, expressed her dissenting vote at Tuesday’s meeting.
Moore said that while she acknowledges the Hawaii Supreme Court’s authority to order the commission to redraw maps, as it did in January, she said she “cannot agree with the court’s decision” to remove non-permanent military personnel, their dependents and out-of-state students from the base population.
Moore felt the decision disenfranchised too many voters.
But another commissioner, Tony Takitani, had a different take.
“The beauty of Hawaii is that we live in an island state, but for reapportionment that’s difficult and the downside to it,” he said, referring to geographic and population challenges that make it challenging to draw political maps. “But I will take the beauty every single week.”
Nanea Kalani contributed to this article.
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About the Author
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Chad Blair is the politics editor for Civil Beat. You can reach him by email at cblair@civilbeat.org or follow him on Twitter at .