THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY OF HAWAII

625 Keawe St, Honolulu, HI 96813 (808) 537-3078

TESTIMONY 

RE: HB #2187 to be heard Tuesday, February 5, at 2 PM in conference room 325

To the members of the House Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs

Dear Committee Members:

We oppose HB#2187. The qualifications for candidates to receive the proposed money are such that the effect of this bill would be opposite to its goal. If the goal is to eliminate improper or excessive influence by interest groups over public officials by cutting off their ability to finance campaigns this bill fails totally.

The bill requires candidates get token donations from 1% of the voters in the district. For Honolulu County this is about 500 people. This is a de facto barrier to any candidate without a large membership organization with plenty of members in that district behind their candidacy. Church groups, labor unions, and anti development NIMBY groups, will see their power increase over the candidates they assisted in obtaining these donations for. Of course the business community will see its power minimized. This change in the power structure and not a cleaning up of elections will be the actual result of this bill, a fact that has probably not been missed by the anti business groups behind it.

Sincerely:

 

Tracy Ryan

 

THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY OF HAWAII

625 Keawe St, Honolulu, HI 96813 (808) 537-3078

TESTIMONY  Status

RE: HB #1012 to be heard Tuesday, February 5, at 2PM in conference room 325

To the members of the House Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs

Dear Committee Members:

We oppose HB#1012 which would add new qualifications for candidates for election to the legislature. Our system suffers from a lack of qualified candidates already. Incumbents often run unopposed or with token opposition. Qualified people are understandably reluctant to change their residence in order to run for a particular office. District lines are arbitrary. A person living in Manoa can’t run for the House District that represents Makiki, but can run for the City Council District that does. A person may live across the street from you, but be unable to run for office in your district because a line divides you.

Currently we have no district residency requirement for our two US Congress seats. Does the Legislature believe Patsy Mink or Neil Abercrombie are less qualified because these requirements are not in place for the offices they hold? Britain with one of the oldest parliamentary systems in the world does not require members to reside in the districts they represent. Winston Churchill didn’t reside in the district he represented. Do you think Winston Chruchill was unqualified for the job?

Why should we make such a requirement at the expense of having a better selection of candidates for voters to choose from. Surely if voters do not want to vote for a candidate based on the candidates place of abode they have the power already to do so.

Sincerely:

 

Tracy Ryan

 

THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY OF HAWAII

 

625 Keawe St, Honolulu, HI 96813 (808) 537-3078

 

TESTIMONY Status

RE: HB#2843 to be heard Tuesday, February 5, at 2 PM in conference room 325

To the members of the House Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs

Dear Committee Members:

We support HB #2843. We have long felt that the primary election is held too shortly in advance of the general election. It reducing the electorates time to focus on the candidate they must ultimately choose from. It deters candidates from attempting to qualify for matching funds for the general election period because the fund raising time is very short. By the time the forms are filled in and verified by the Campaign Spending Committee election is over and the funds aimed at helping complying candidates are of no use to them. Finally the shortness of time creates difficulty for candidates since they don’t know who their opposition will be in the general election until a few weeks before hand.

 

Sincerely:

Tracy Ryan

 

 

THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY OF HAWAII

 

625 Keawe St, Honolulu, HI 96813 (808) 537-3078

 

TESTIMONY  Status

RE: HB #2189 to be heard Tuesday, February 5, at 2 PM in conference room 325

To the members of the House Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs

Dear Committee Members:

We support the intent of HB# 2189. However, we would much prefer a system that allows the taxpayer to pay any amount of their choosing into the fund voluntarily by adding that amount to the balance due on their income tax return or by subtracting it from any refund due from them. Instead of directing a token amount of money they owe anyway away from the general fund, this system would make them responsible for making a truly voluntary contribution in any amount.

 

Sincerely:

Tracy Ryan