Yoshimura picks candidates for reapportionment panel
By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser City Hall Writer
City Council Chairman Jon Yoshimura has announced his nominations for the City Reapportionment Commission, the panel responsible for deciding the new district boundaries for the nine Council districts.
Advertiser library photo • Jan. 20, 2000
All of the nominees are up for approval Wednesday by the City Council. If confirmed, the members will be sworn in Thursday.
Jon Yoshimura's selections are up for City Council confirmation.
The panel is expected to meet regularly and file a reapportionment plan with the City Clerk's office by Jan. 2.
The City Charter requires that a commission convene every 10 years by July 1 to prepare a plan for the Council districts based on the latest U.S. Census figures.
Commission members must review the census population data for O'ahu and redraw district lines, Yoshimura said.
Shifts in boundaries are watched with interest by politicians who study the neighborhood boundaries to look for clues to the types of candidates who have the best chance to win in the various districts.
And some communities keep an eye on the lines because the geographic boundaries sometimes split cities.
For example, Waipahu is now split into three of the nine Council districts.
The nine nominees are: Kerry Komatsubara, partner in law firm Furutani Sato Komatsubara; Bennette Evangelista, Central Pacific Bank vice president; Ryan Yamauchi, Honolulu Board of Realtors official; Annette Yamaguchi, YMCA official and chairwoman of the Waipahu Neighborhood Board; Max Sword, Outriggers Hotels & Resorts executive; Rai Saint Chu, vice president and managing attorney with Law Offices of Richard Turbin; Kerry Ahn, treasurer of Belt Collins Hawaii; Vicki Gaynor, assistant vice president of Haseko Homes; and Vernon Ta'a, official with the Plumbers-Fitters Union Local 675.
