The Hawaii State Reapportionment Commission will hold a public hearing on Hawaii Island to get comment on the newly-created maps which define State Senate and State House district boundaries. The hearing is today, Tuesday, February 21, at 6 p.m. at the Hawaii County Council office in Hilo at 25 Aupuni Center and via video teleconferencing at the Kona Council Office at the West Hawaii Civic Center up Kealakehe Parkway at the intersection of Ane Keohokalole Highway.
Although the Hawaii State Reapportionment Commission had created new maps by the end of 2011, the Supreme Court ruled in early 2012 that the Commission had violated the State Constitution in not excluding nonresidents, especially self-declared nonresident military and students. The new districts give Hawaii Island one additional State Senate seat, or four, and Oahu one less. The State House District boundaries have changed, but the number allocated to Hawaii Island remains the same–7.
The Hawaii Island district boundaries for the House are similar to what was proposed in 2011. The biggest complaints about the districts: Representatives Mark Nakashima and Jerry Chang are now placed in the same District, thus putting them in the position of running against each other if they wish to remain in office. The new House District 3 goes from the Panaewa area in Hilo all the way up and over to Pahala. And in West Hawaii, the shift has created a geographically very large new District 5 that goes from roughly Hualalai Road through Na’alehu in South Kona–with complaints saying that Kailua-Kona and Na’alehu don’t always have the same issues, therefore probably should be in different districts–as they have been.
The new District 6 goes roughly from Hualalai Road, encompasses downtown Kailua Village, and goes up to just north of Kekaha Kai State Park. The district alignment gives the impression of having been started at that point, carving out a new District 6, which then spreads the other districts around the island to meet the population requirement so all districts have roughly equal population. The new House 7 goes from what appears to be above Holualoa up through Waikoloa, Waimea, and South and North Kohala. The new House 1 covers Hamakua. House 2 is Central Hilo. House 4 is Pahoa and Puna.
For State Senate, the four districts roughly translate to West Hawaii, North Hawaii from Kona through Kohala and Waimea down to the Hilo line, Hilo to Stainback Highway in Panaewa, and South Hawaii from Panaewa to Pahala.
According to the State Reapportionment Office in Honolulu, the new maps are now available for viewing at the County Elections offices in Hilo and in Kona. They are also available online, at http://hawaii.gov/elections/reapportionment.
To get to the new maps, scroll down, and there is a link called View Redistricting Plans Online! Once at that link, to see the maps, one must create a login. They will then get a pulldown map that lists various options, including Hawaii Senate and Hawaii House seats for the districts created Feb 15. Click on whichever map you wish to view; the dialogue box will say Opening Template Plan. The path to see the maps isn’t entirely straightforward, but it is possible to get to the maps.
Once you select a map, for example Hawaii House Feb 15, you are at a page Welcome to Hawaii Redistricting Online. On top of that page, there are a few tabs…the second being Create. That’s the tab on which to click, even though the intent is no longer to create a plan, but view a plan.
Once there, a box will pop up that gives the statistics, such as population for each plan. Underneath it is a map of the island, with the districts able to be viewed in color. Get rid of the box on top by clicking a box at the upper left called Districts, that looks like an Excel spread sheet. That temporarily removes the statistics box and leaves the color map of the island. You can then use the small magnifying glass at the top and your mouse wheel to zoom in to see the districts better. It takes some fussing, but it’s possible to get a good idea of what the district lines are, especially using the small hand to move the map and the magnifiers next to it to increase or decrease the size.
The Hawaii State Elections / Reapportionment Office has a man named Chris Wong who is very helpful if you need assistance…808-586-4103 or 586-4100.
The Reapportionment Office says they will take testimony at today’s public hearing, and request that each testifier provide a copy of their testimony in writing either before or at the hearing. Written testimony may also be submitted to:
State of Hawaii Reapportionment Commission
State Capitol, Room 445
415 South Beretania St., Honolulu 96813
Email: reapportionment@hawaii.gov
The Reapportionment Commission says their goal is to finalize the plan at their February 23 meeting, to have everything firm by February 29. Until the district lines are set, candidates for state offices cannot file for office. The final date to file is June 5. The primary election is August 11, with walk-in advance voting starting July 30.
The work of the Hawaii County Redistricting Commission, which set the maps for County Council Districts, is not affected by the State Reapportionment Commission’s work. Those maps were finalized at the end of 2011.
