How the City & County System Short Circuits Democracy

County Empowerment

This illustrates how democracy is short changed by the City & County system using Council District 3 on the island of Oahu as an example. 

 

District 3- Waimanalo, Kailua and Kaneohe, together the total about 115,000 people.

To compare representation let’s look at Douglas County Oregon which has approximately 107,000 people.  Douglas County has a regular county structure (not city & county) which administers roads, parks, law enforcement, planning and public works, etc.   The county is overseen by a 3 person Board of Commissioners, and elected County Assessor, Auditor, County Clerk , Judge, Sheriff, Surveyor, Treasurer and Justice of the Peace.

Douglas County also has 12 incorporated municipalities.

A working definition of an incorporated municipality can look like the following:

Municipal corporations are an important feature of the political structure of the United States. Incorporating a municipality gives it the freedom to form a society that is distinct from other localities in the state and country.  This idea of local control is the same concept that animates the constitutional division of the country into a collection of smaller states.  By giving municipalities some autonomy, individuals are more capable of participating in politics and gaining a measure of control over their lives than if political activity occurred only on the federal and state level.  a

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Roseburg is the Douglas County seat and an incorporated municipality, home to about 23,000 people.   It has a Mayor who elected for a two year term and an eight person city council elected on four year terms.   Both the mayor and city council are non-salaried volunteer positions.
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So lets compare the representation of District 3 of the City & County of Honolulu to Douglass County Oregon and the City of Roseburg
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District 3 City & County of Honolulu
Representation:
1- Mayor of Honolulu
1- City Prosecutor
1- City Council Position
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Douglas County
Representation:
1- County Commissioner
1-County Assessor
1-County Auditor
1- County Clerk
1- County Sheriff,
1- County Surveyor
1- County Treasurer
1- Justice Of The Peace
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Roseburg Incorporated Municipality (1 of 12)
Representation:
1- Mayor
8- City Council Representing Different Neighborhoods (Boroughs)
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Hawaii is the ONLY state without incorporated municipalities because of the City & County system established on all island in 1905.   Many of Hawaii’s structural problems can be traced back the fact that there is too little representation for a democratic system to properly function. Establishing true county systems on all island ( Potentially 2- on the Big island, 1- for Maui, Molokai and Lanai, 2- on Oahu and 1- on Kauai) would enable the collaboration and cooperation needed to properly run a 21st Century State.
The Interisland Super Ferry
Giving Hawaiians What Belongs To Them
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