Today is the deadline for people to apply to run in the 2007 elections to O'ahu's 32 neighborhood boards.

Candidate application forms are available at the city clerk's office and the Neighborhood Commission Office at Honolulu Hale, the Neighborhood Commission Office at Kapolei Hale and all satellite city halls. The form also can be downloaded on the Web at www.honolulu.gov/nco/2007_candidate_application_form.pdf.

Applications must be postmarked or hand-delivered to the Neighborhood Commission Office at Honolulu Hale, 530 S. King St., by the close of business today.

Neighborhood board elections are held in odd-numbered years. All 444 seats on the boards are up for election, and the two-year terms of office start in June. Members are elected from their neighborhoods by mail-in ballots. Candidates must be at least 18 years old on Jan. 16, 2007, and live in the neighborhood and, sometimes, the subdistrict.

Established in 1973, the neighborhood board system was created to give citizens a chance to take part in government decisions. The boards meet monthly and serve as advisory boards for all levels of government about various community issues.

Over the years, the boards have become both a community forum for critical issues and something of a political farm team with many elected officials beginning their careers on the boards before going on to run for the state Legislature and the City Council.

And the boards generate some controversy. In August, a city auditor's report faulted the neighborhood board system for lacking measurable goals and having poor oversight and a "disjointed structure." Some boards couldn't meet for months because of chronic absences of members.

Other meetings became known for their high level of conflict — people would tune in to the public access televised meetings to check on the shouting matches that developed.