Hawaiʻi Island voters will have the chance to weigh in on three county charter amendment questions in the November election.
The questions are related to councilmember vacancies, department head appointments, and the Cost of Government Commission.
To get on the election ballot, charter amendment questions were approved by a supermajority of at least six of nine councilmembers. From there, an amendment passes if the “yes” votes on the question outnumber the “no” votes.
The general election is Nov. 5 and voters can expect to receive ballots in the mail in mid-October.
Charter question 1:
"Shall the Hawaiʻi County Charter be amended to provide that any vacancy on the County Council that occurs or exists after a person was duly elected to fill that seat for the upcoming Council term shall be filled by that duly elected successor for the remainder of the unexpired term?"
This question asks whether, in an election year, the winner of a vacant county council seat should automatically assume the position instead of waiting for the start of their term.
What does a “yes” vote mean?
It would allow someone who wins their county council seat outright by getting over 50% of the vote in the August primary to fill a vacancy at the council immediately, instead of waiting for the December inauguration with the rest of the new councilmembers.
Councilmember Cindy Evans was in a similar predicament in 2022 when she won outright in the August primary to fill the Kohala District 9 seat. The seat was left vacant in November when Tim Richards won his state senate election and resigned from the council to join the Legislature.
Evans was concerned that her district would not have representation at the council for a month.
“They need someone,” she said. “They weren't going to have the inauguration until Dec. 5 ... there's enough time and a lot of votes, a lot of council meetings, or maybe emergencies — who knows — a pandemic, a volcanic eruption, all kinds of stuff could happen and people need to make decisions.”
Between November and December of 2022, there were full council and committee meetings where District 9 did not have representation.
A similar scenario is likely to play out this election cycle in Hawaiʻi County because District 2 Councilmember Sue Lee Loy won the election to the state House in the August primary. She is running unopposed in the general election and will need to resign her council position on Nov. 5 to become a state representative.
Meanwhile, Dennis Onishi won the primary election outright in August and if this charter amendment passes, it could allow him to immediately assume the position so there isn't a period where the council seat representing parts of Hilo is left vacant.
Charter question 2:
"Shall the Hawaiʻi County Charter be amended to require the Mayor to appoint department heads within 30 days of the start of each mayoral term and within 60 days for any vacancy in office that occurs during the mayoral term?"
The question asks if the mayor should be required to appoint department heads within 30 days of the start of each mayoral term and fill any vacancies in 60 days.
Currently, there is no timeframe for the mayor to appoint department heads, as the charter only requires the council to confirm the mayor’s appointments within 60 days.
What does a “yes” vote mean?
It would not only require the mayor to appoint department heads within 30 days of the start of each mayoral term and fill any vacancies in 60 days, but also ensure that at the beginning of every mayoral term, all department heads would have to come before the council for confirmation — even if they are being rolled over from the last term.
“In the case right now, it's not very clear. It says that department heads can hold over until a successor is appointed, what this bill is saying is that's still possible, but the mayor has to submit names to us,” said Hawaiʻi County Councilmember Holeka Inaba, who introduced the measure.
“It gives the council the opportunity to do a review if it's a new or an ongoing appointment to a position," Inaba said.
Mayor Mitch Roth, who is running for re-election against Kimo Alameda, originally vetoed the charter amendment. He wrote to the council that 30 and 60 days is not enough time to find suitable candidates.
He noted that it took over 4 months to find a Director of Human Resources and a Police Chief. However, the council overrode his veto to put the question to voters.
Charter question 3:
"Shall the Hawaiʻi County Charter be amended to increase the term length for members of the Cost of Government Commission from eleven to twenty-two months and extend the deadline for the Commission to submit its report from eleven months after appointment to twenty months after appointment?"
The question asks whether the terms for the Hawaiʻi Cost of Government Commission, which researches the efficiency of county government, should be extended to 18 months after the start of the mayoral term, instead of the current 12 months.
It also asks whether the commission should have 20 months to submit their report, rather than 11 months, and whether the commissioners' terms should be adjusted to 22 months instead of 11 months.
What does a “yes” vote mean?
Councilmember Evans, who co-introduced the measure with Council Member Jenn Kagiwada, explained that this gives the commission more time to put together their findings.
Kagiwada's office added that the extensions would also allow the commissioners to remain in their positions after presenting their final report to help follow through on their recommendations. Currently, after presenting the final report, the commissioners end their terms and have to do any follow up presentations or give testimony as members of the public.
The new timeframe would set a deadline for their recommendations to be published 10 months before the next mayoral term, leaving time for legislative changes. The current timetable has the report coming out just one month before councilmembers reach the end of their two-year term.
