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Hawaiian Affairs Caucus E-News
July 19, 2019
General Membership Meeting
Wednesday, July 24
6:00 p.m.
Democratic Party of Hawaii (DPH) Headquarters (627 South Street)
Originally scheduled for the purpose of cleanup of the DPH headquarters, the meeting will now include time set aside for the purpose of discussing the status of Maunakea. As information, the HAC Executive Committee issued a statement joining other Native Hawaiian organizations in calling on the Governor of Hawai‘i and the Mayor of Hawai‘i County to support the Pu‘uhonua and to provide plans that would allow for the voices of Native Hawaiians and others to be heard without putting our people in harms way, and to respect their constitutionally protected rights to peaceably assemble under the 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and to practice their traditional and customary rights under Article 12, Sec 7, of the Hawai‘i State Constitution. Members are encouraged to attend the meeting to share mana’o and to help with cleaning of the DPH.
Hanapēpē Salt Ponds
The Hawaiian Affairs Caucus Executive Committee offered for adoption a resolution by the State Central Committee, Democratic Party of Hawai‘i that urges the State of Hawai‘i Department of Transportation, the Department of Land and Natural Resources, and the County of Kaua‘i to protect the cultural practice of gathering and making pa‘akai (salt) at Hanapēpē, by requiring an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to enable meaningful investigation and disclosure of any potential environmental impacts of activities underlying the permit application from Meverick Helicopter, Smokey Mountain. The resolution can be found at hawaiianaffairs.org.
Pohakuloa Lawsuit
The Environmental Caucus and the Hawaiian Affairs Caucus will be hosting an educational forum on July 25, 6:00 p.m., on “Pohakuloa”, at the DPH headquarters featuring Native Hawaiian Legal Corp Attorney David Kimo Frankel, Esq.; Jim Albertini, Maxine Kahaulelio; and Ruth Aloua to discuss Ching et.al. v. William Aila, Jr., DLNR, et.al. RE U.S. Army’s lack of “Malama `Aina” at Pohakuloa Training Area. Organizer: Melodie Aduja. The panel of speakers will essentially discuss the lawsuit brought by these complainants against the Department of Land and Natural Resources for failure to carry out the terms of its 65-year lease agreement to protect public land trust lands at the military-leased Pohakuloa Training Area on Hawai‘i Island when it failed to monitor and investigate the Army’s compliance with lease terms to clean up unexploded ordnance at Pohakuloa.
Kawaiaha‘o Church Cemetery Headstone Destruction
On July 3, someone vandalized approximately 27 headstones at the Kawaiahao Church Cemetery. The culprits haven’t been found yet. Local 1, Bricklayers Union quickly volunteered their help and has been repairing the headstones. HAC applauds the union and thanks their volunteers.
Hawaiian Affairs Caucus Plans for July 2019 to December 2020
HAC membership approved its plan of goals and objectives for the remainder of this year and 2020. The Plan can be found at the Hawaiian Affairs Caucus website, hawaiianaffairs.org. Additionally, it approved as its #1 legislative priority for 2020 the settlement of the Public Land Trust . At its 2019 county convention, the Oahu County Committee Democrats adopted OC 2019-13: Urging the Hawaiʻi State Legislature to Comply with HRS §10-13.5 that Requires 20 Percent of Public Land Trust Revenue be Given to Native Hawaiians.
Hawaiian Affairs Caucus New Member Welcome Letter
The HAC developed and will be issuing a new member welcome letter that calls attention to the availability of its bylaws, its website, its meeting dates, times and location, etc. It has also embarked on reconciling its membership list with that of the DPH database of Democrats interested in the activities of the caucus. As a note, the Caucus normally posts information on its meetings on the HAC website and notifies members on its internal membership list by email. Until the transition of the DPH database, it had also notified Democrats in the database who expressed interest in the Caucus by email, but since May when the HIDEMS database went down, it has not done so. We are awaiting instructions on the new capabilities and procedures for sending emails via the new database. We strongly urge that members sign up to receive notifications posted to the HAC website, hawaiianaffairs.org.
Database transition
The HIDEMS database has been terminated. The Democratic Party of Hawaii is now utilizing the DNC vendor (VAN). The DPH Chair has advised that the DPH membership data is protected and not shared and that a FAQ sheet is being prepared to answer questions about the database. As a side note, for caucuses, only the Chair, 1VC and the secretary have access per the DPH database access policy. Until email capability using the DPH database is restored, communications with those interested in Hawaiian Affairs, but who are not members of the HAC, may be delayed. Highly encourage the use of the HAC website, www.hawaiianaffairs.org to be kept informed.
Presidential Preference Poll 2020
The SCC has adopted the Delegate Selection Plan for 2020, a copy of which can be found at the Democratic Party of Hawaii (DPH) website at hawaiidemocrats.org. Two significant changes for 2020: Ranked Choice Voting and Mail Ballots with on-site voting also available at about 20 locations. Critical to the success of the mail ballots is that the address for all Democrats be accurate in the database. Thus, if you have moved, be sure to notify the DPH to correct your mailing address. Additionally, as earlier announced, the system of using vote by mail will cost about $225,000. Membership donations to this effort are encouraged. The HAC started a Kukui Hui ($1000) and we are about 75% there with donations that have been made thus far. Good work members! Mahalo nui loa. If you haven’t sent in your donation, it’s not too late. Mail to Democratic Party of Hawaii headquarters, 627 South Street, Ste 105, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813, make a note on your check HAC PPP Kukui Hui.
HAC Calendar of Events, July-December 2019
Mark your calendar and plan to attend these activities. For updates, consult the HAC website, hawaiianaffairs.org.
July 24, 6:00 p.m., DPH Housekeeping clean up day
July 25, 6:00 p.m., “Pohakuloa”, DPH Headquarters, featuring NHLC Attorney David Kimo Frankel, Esq.; Jim Albertini, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmw70hRQsx0; Maxine Kahaulelio; and Ruth Aloua to discuss Ching et.al. v. William Aila, Jr., DLNR, et.al. RE U.S. Army’s lack of “Malama `Aina” at Pohakuloa Training Area. Hosted by Environmental Caucus; Hawaiian Affairs Caucus. Lead is Melodie Aduja.
August 21, 6:00 p.m., Joint HAC Executive Committee and General Membership Meeting, DPH headquarters, Guest speaker, Kuhio Lewis, CNHA
August 31, 5:00 p.m., Pikake Room, Blaisdell, $50 donation, Pupus and Politics
September 4, 6:00 p.m., HAC Executive Committee Meeting, DPH Headquarters
September 12, Glenn Ida Memorial Golf Tournament, Pearl City Country Club
September 21-25, Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA) Convention
October 2, HAC Executive Committee Meeting, 6:00 p.m., DPH Headquarters
October 23, 6:00 p.m., HAC General Membership Meeting, DPH Headquarters; guest speaker OHA – PLT and OHA Strategic Plan (To be confirmed)
November 6, 6:00 p.m., HAC EC and General Membership Combined Meeting, DPH headquarters, guest speaker DHHL (To be confirmed)
December 4, 6:00 p.m., HAC Executive Committee Meeting
December 11, 6:00 p.m., HAC Holiday Party |
