Democratic Party of Hawaii – Oahu County General Membership Minutes

Democratic Party of Hawaii – Oahu County General Membership Minutes
Date: February 22, 2007

Time: 6:00 p.m.

Location: Democratic Party Headquarters

Attending: Annelle Amaral(Chair), Jalna Keala(Secretary), Andrei Soto(Region I), Tony Campagna (Deputy Chair- Communications), Bill Woods(State Central), Rich Halverson(Deputy Chair-Conference), Chuck Prentiss(Region IX), Dave Wallenstein, Glenn Ida(48-03), Charley Ice(Region V), Karl Minke.

Agenda Item	Discussion	Motion/Action
I Call to Order II Minutes III Treasurer’s Report IV Region Chairs V Committee Reports Reference Manual Conference District Organizing VI Old Business VII New Business a. Office of Elections b. Future Meetings VIII Announcements	At 6:00 p.m. Chair Annelle Amaral called the meeting to order and asked for any additions to the agenda. The minutes of January 25, 2007 were approved as circulated. There was no treasurer’s report. Region I – New chair Andrei Soto reported that he has not had a chance to contact District chairs yet to find out how/what they are doing. Region V – Chair Charley Ice reported that he had been contacting people and needs access to district names and addresses. Halverson will help him get data from the City and County Neighborhood Board website. Region IX – Chair Chuck Prentiss reported that they are still working on election issues. They are also getting together a schedule for the region. Amy Monk’s report was deferred to the next general meeting. Rich Halverson will be meeting with OCC vice chair Allicyn Tasaka and appreciates her assistance with planning the conference. Charley Ice is working with the State Legislative Committee to facilitate district organizing. The committee meets every Saturday during the legislative session. (See Region reports above.) Chair Amaral reported that with the help of Debi Hartmann and an intern she is tracking OCC bills, testifying and providing input at the legislature. She said that for the most part OCC bills are moving pretty nicely. There are more than five hundred short form bills. She is engaged at the legislature to develop a working relationship and create value of the Democratic Party among legislators. She expressed the need to evaluate overall OCC effectiveness when the session is over. Chair Amaral explained that there is a controversy on the re-appointment of Dwane Yoshina as State Elections Officer. Yoshina’s contract expired in January and he wrote a letter to the commission asking that it be renewed. At the January meeting of the Election Commission only two of the four Democratic appointees were present. All of the Republican appointees as well as the Republican Party Chair and the Attorney General were in attendance and an attempt was made to remove Yoshina by the commissioners. Because proper agenda notification had not been made no action could be taken and the matter was put off until the March 1, 2007 commission meeting. Amaral’s concern is that it opens the door of opportunity for a Republican appointment. There is a Republican record of political manipulation of reapportionment and gerrymandering in mainland states, and the agency to handle reapportionment in Hawaii is the State Office of Elections. There will be reapportionment in 2008 to prepare for the 2010 election. Although Yoshina is extremely well experienced in running elections and reapportionment, this is an issue of a fair and open process to appoint the most knowledgeable candidate. He has upset some politicians in the past, but Yoshina is honest and has managed State elections with integrity. Also mentioned were the issues of voters disenfranchised by changing zip codes in Ohio, Florida and Texas and the many details of elections that can be influenced by the Elections Office. The Bush-Gore election is a stark reminder of election process vulnerability. Amaral contacted the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate who both appoint members to the commission to please have their appointees attend the next meeting. She spoke briefly to the Speaker who said he is willing to support a compromise candidate nominated by the Republicans. The Senate President was unaware of the problem until Amaral called. By agreement, the committee supports Dwayne Yoshina’s reappointment as State Elections Officer and an open and independent selection process. The committee also suggested that the media be contacted with regard to the issue, and suggested were: Dan Boylan, Ian Lind, Gerry Burris and the Honolulu Weekly. Amaral said that the next Elections Commission meeting is March 1 in the Kalanimoku Building and she intends to be there if any committee members care to join her. It was moved, seconded and approved to develop a Certificate of Appreciation for Dwayne Yoshina’s many years of service. Campagna offered to help. There was a discussion as to the necessity for monthly meetings since there are both Executive and General Membership meetings, which amount to two Party meetings monthly for some people. Amaral is concerned that perhaps with fewer OCC meetings more time could be spent in outreach, organizing districts in preparation for elections next year. Special meetings can always be called if emergencies arise and committee decisions are needed. There was a motion to have quarterly General membership meetings. The motion failed. There was a motion to have General membership meetings every other month following the legislative session. The motion was adopted. The Chair announced that the next OCC meeting would be on March 22, 2007 at 6:00 p.m. at Democratic Headquarters. There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 8:15 p.m. Submitted by: Jalna Keala, Secretary	Motion by Soto, second by Woods. Motion by Ice, second by Halverson. Motion by Prentiss, second by Woods.