Lt. Governor Talks Con Con on Neighbor Islands
Lt. Governor Aiona traveled to Maui and the Big Island this week in part to inform and educate community leaders about the opportunity for a constitutional convention, which Hawai‘i residents have not had in three decades.
At a breakfast meeting Monday with the Maui Chamber of Commerce, Lt. Governor Aiona told members gathered at Ruby’s Diner that a con con would “give our citizens their own forum” away from partisan political interests to address long-standing issues facing Hawai‘i families.
Some of the issues that have been raised include giving local communities a stronger role in the public education system, enacting health care reforms to lower costs and improve accessibility, and applying the sunshine law to the state legislature as it is applied to other government bodies.
That afternoon, Lt. Governor Aiona told a gathering of the Rotary Club of Kahului that they have the “opportunity to make this election different” on Nov. 4, referring to the impact a constitutional convention can have on getting more citizens involved in government.
Hawai‘i’s voter turnout rate, which consistently ranks among the lowest nationally, has gone from a high of 73.6 percent in 1978 – the last year Hawai‘i residents held a constitutional convention – to an all-time low of less than 35 percent in the last primary election.
On Tuesday, the Lt. Governor addressed Rotary Clubs of Hilo, Hilo Bay and South Hilo, explaining that opponents of a constitutional convention have raised nearly $400,000 from a Washington, D.C. lobbying group, the National Education Association, to fund a media campaign that supports their position.
“Ultimately, it is up to the people of Hawai‘i to decide the future direction of our state,” Lt. Governor Aiona said.
Lt. Governor said Hawai‘i can hold constitutional convention for under $10 million, adding that “Hawai‘i taxpayers spend approximately $38 million a year for each legislative session.”
Proponents have said that a constitutional convention could save millions of taxpayer dollars by making government run more effectively and efficiently. They also point to the potential cost of a con con as being equivalent to running state government for approximately six hours.
Compounding voters’ decision is that blank ballots will count as ‘no’ votes, which is an issue that could be taken up at a constitutional convention.
If there are more ‘yes’ votes than the combination of ‘no’ votes and blank ballots in response to the con con question, the state legislature will determine the number of delegates, facility to house the convention and amount of money to appropriate, among other considerations.
Next week, the Lt. Governor will address the Rotary Clubs of Kaua`i and Kona.
Read the latest news on a constitutional convention here.
