What went wrong with the reapportionment process this year?

The major work of the nine-member Hawaii Reapportionment Commission (HRC) was almost exclusively performed by a powerful and secretive four-member technical committee (TC). The original maps produced by the TC and approved by the HRC on Oct. 28, 2021, for public comment contained major flaws that defied logic for no apparent reason, including mixing Windward Oahu with East Honolulu areas, dividing many East Honolulu communities, and not adhering to constitutional criteria. This led to much public speculation in the press that the maps were designed to advantage or disadvantage certain legislators. The secrecy of the process contributed to such speculation. When the public-at-large and 11 neighborhood boards representing about 300,000 Oahu residents rejected the HRC’s original plan, that input was largely ignored and at times ridiculed. In the end, the HRC’s final plan flagrantly ignored practicable constitutional and Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) criteria.

What was your goal in designing an alternative to the commission’s maps?

At first, I simply wanted to see if there was any reason why my Kailua- Waimanalo House District 51 needed to be radically modified to include Portlock. In the process I discovered three things: (1) There was absolutely no need to join dissimilar Kailua- Waimanalo with Portlock, or to split so many East Honolulu communities such as Diamond Head and Manoa; (2) the HRC plan used an unnecessarily high 8% population deviation. I achieved about 2%, which is much closer to the goal of “one man, one vote”; (3) the Constitution provides a good recipe for how to construct fully practicable maps. I have never understood why the HRC produced its flawed plan in the first place. With experience, I was able to produce maps that are fully compliant with all constitutional criteria.

What did the HRC get right?

The HRC made its interactive mapping available to the public many years ago, and early on in this year’s process encouraged residents to develop and submit alternative plans for consideration. It conducted 11 public hearings between Nov. 30 and Dec. 10 on the maps approved for public review. In December 2021 the HRC corrected problems created by its original proposal in Manoa Valley and the Diamond Head area, and in January 2022 it finally corrected another problem caused by proposing a “wraparound” Makapuu House district. But it did not correct the Senate district or issues in some less-affluent areas.

What can be done to improve the process?

Every commissioner must understand the constitutional and HRS criteria. I recommend the commissioners use the criteria to create their own individual maps to better acquaint themselves with the requirements and the process, including the challenges. Commissioners need to understand that this process is supposed to be for the people who elect their representatives, and not an enabler for representatives to select their constituents. There must be more transparency. Proactively involving neighborhood board participation in the review process would help.

Do you support a legal challenge to the current maps?

Yes, along with many others, I support a challenge. The key constitutional question for the Hawaii Supreme Court is very straightforward; hopefully the court will be able to issue an opinion within a reasonable time. The Reapportionment Justice Coalition (RJC) seeks to uphold the Constitution to defend the people of Hawaii, working to preserve the equal value of each citizen’s vote, while expecting the HRC, no matter who appointed them, to follow the Constitution and the HRS, even if it must be directed by a court order. The HRC already is well aware of citizen-submitted alternative Oahu Senate and Big Island House plans that are fully practicable and compliant with all constitutional criteria and have garnered widespread support in public testimony in five commission meetings. So, the commission has a road map to fix this. The candidate filing deadline is June 7, so there is likely to be minimal impact, if any, on the filing deadline or the primary and general election dates.

Bonus Question

Why should the average person take an interest in reapportionment?

People are supposed to elect their representatives, not the other way around. Our Hawaii Constitution describes how apportionment takes place, to ensure the process does not favor any one politician or party and results in compact and aligned districts. Improper apportionment for specific political purposes can result in gerrymandering, polarization and the silencing of certain voices. Reapportionment legal challenges are in the news in many states because it is so fundamentally important to our democracy.

In Hawaii’s specific situation, the HRC failed to honor the constitutional criterion that House districts should — if practicable, and it is — be fully contained within one Senate district. There are 35 noncompliant House districts in the HRC’s plan (out of 51). Multiple Senate districts span across six House districts, and multiple House districts on both Oahu and the Big Island span across four Senate districts. With limited time and staff, this makes it much harder for legislators to effectively coordinate action and makes it more difficult for neighbors to effectively advocate for their common interests to the Legislature.

The citizen-submitted alternative plans are constitutionally compliant and fully practicable. In those plans every Senate district contains exactly two House districts, ensuring that all elected officials have a shared understanding of the local community’s need for schools, roads and other infrastructure, enabling legislators to be more effective at representing their districts.

THE BIO FILE

>> Current position: Chairman, Kailua Neighborhood Board; involved citizen in reapportionment process.

>> Professional: Now retired, after a full Navy career, 1971-2019; U.S. Naval Academy graduate and two MS degrees; Hawaii tours included commanding officer of a nuclear submarine, and variously director or deputy director of submarine operations at COMSUBPAC.

>> Personal: Married for more than 45 years, with two grown children and two grandsons; Kailua resident for 28 years.