Resolutions Adopted

Whereas, The Oʻahu County Democrats have strongly supported Marriage Equality for over two decades by including it in our Platform and the passage of resolutions supporting its passage into law; now therefore be it

Resolved, That Oʻahu County Democrats of the Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi officially commends and thanks the Honorable Neil Abercrombie, Governor of the State of Hawaiʻi, for the leadership he showed on September 9, 2013 when he called a Special Session to convene on October 28, 2013 to decide the destiny of Marriage Equality in the Aloha State; and be it

Resolved, That Oʻahu County Democrats of the Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi officially commends and thanks the Democrats of the Hawaiʻi State Legislature who served during the Second Special Session of 2013 and strongly supported the Oʻahu County Platform by voting for the passage of Marriage Equality; and be it

Resolved, That Oʻahu County Democrats of the Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi calls upon its members to celebrate, as they each see fit, on December 2, 2014, which is the historic first anniversary of Marriage Equality finally being legally recognized in the Aloha State; and be it

Ordered,That copies of this resolution be transmitted to each Oʻahu County Democrat who is a member of the Hawaiʻi State Legislature, as well as to the Honorable Neil Abercrombie, Governor of the State of Hawaiʻi, and to the Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui, Lt. Governor of the State of Hawaiʻi, and the 2014 convention resolutions committee of the Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi

Whereas, The education of the children of the State is a major priority and concern of the people of the State; and

Whereas, Since the origin of the Board of Education, a public petition item on the Board Meeting agenda has enabled parents, teachers, students, and the general public to bring matters of concern to the attention of the Board; and

Whereas, The present Board has abolished that item, effectively making it impossible to notify the Board of problems that concern teachers, students and the general public; and

Whereas, The present agenda items listed are unclear and non-specific, making it difficult to ascertain what testimony the Board will accept; and

Whereas, Board meetings are now held at times and locations that make it difficult for parents and teachers to attend; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That Oʻahu County Democrats of the Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi urges the Governor of the State of Hawaiʻi to request that the Board of Education reestablish the public petition item on the Board's Meeting Agenda, so that the knowledge and interests of the community may be made available to the members of the Board of Education; and be it

Ordered, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to each Oʻahu County Democrat who is a member of the Hawaiʻi State Legislature, the Chair and all members of the Board of Education, as well as to the Honorable Neil Abercrombie, Governor of the State of Hawaiʻi, the Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui, Lt. Governor of the State of Hawaiʻi, and the 2014 convention resolutions committee of the Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi.

Whereas, Numerous studies have demonstrated that when economic, educational, and other community variables are taken into an account, students from schools with credentialed librarians, adequate staff support, resource-rich school libraries and open access outperform students who lack these resources; and

Whereas, More free voluntary reading improves comprehension, vocabulary, and the acquisition of information; and

Whereas, A full-time qualified School Librarian makes a critical difference in boosting the reading and writing scores of the most vulnerable students; and

Whereas, Test scores show that the majority of public school students in Hawaiʻi are reading below grade level; and

Whereas, School Libraries and qualified school librarians are diminishing at an alarming rate, and there are now only 172 certified librarians for 255 public school libraries; and

Whereas, It has proven difficult to obtain accurate information from the Department of Education regarding the status of school libraries with certified school librarians so that the situation may be addressed; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Oʻahu County Democrats of the Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi urge the Governor to request the Board of Education to ensure that each school has a school library, and determine staffing levels at each library including the number of certified Masters of Library Science (MLS) librarians, assigned clerical staff, budgets for library materials, and official student populations for 2014-15, and that this information be made publicly available; and be it

Resolved, That the Oʻahu County Democrats of the Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi urge the Legislature to set aside adequate funding outside of the student-weighted formula to ensure that students from every school community have a fully-equipped library with a full-time credentialed MLS school librarian, be it

Ordered, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to each Oʻahu County Democrat who is a member of the Hawaiʻi State Legislature, the Chair and all members of the Board of Education, as well as to the Honorable Neil Abercrombie, Governor of the State of Hawaiʻi, the Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui, Lt. Governor of the State of Hawaiʻi, and the 2014 convention resolution committee of the Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi.

Whereas, The Oʻahu County Democrats support the public financing of elections; and

Whereas, The effort to pass "Voter Owned Elections" bills has gone on for many years; and

Whereas, The Legislature in 2008 passed a bill for a pilot program of public financing of county council elections on Hawaiʻi Island; and

Whereas, The experience on Hawaiʻi County has demonstrated public financing can provide a helpful alternative for candidates to run viable campaigns, without having to spend inordinate time soliciting contributions from special interests; and

Whereas, The option to use public funding for elections has benefited both incumbents and challengers; and

Whereas, The 2013 and 2014 sessions were both close to passing a bill which would have provided the option of public financing for candidates to the State House, but failed to reach agreement on a final draft; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Oʻahu County Democrats of the Democratic Party pf Hawaiʻi strongly urge the Democratic legislators to work during the interim to reach an agreement on passing legislation to provide the public financing option for candidates to the state House as an expansion of the program; and be it

Resolved, That the Oʻahu County Democrats of the Democratic Party pf Hawaiʻi strongly urge the State Democratic Party to make passage of public financing of elections a priority for the 2015 legislative session; and be it

Ordered, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to all Oʻahu Democratic members of the Hawaiʻi State Legislature.

Whereas, Hurricane ʻIniki of 1992 was a Category 4 storm, causing $1.8 Billion in damages; and

Whereas, Hurricane ʻIniki was headed for Oʻahu before it veered off to strike Kauaʻi, still causing major damage on the Waiʻanae Coast; and

Whereas, The damage included knocking out broadcast stations and normal communications; and

Whereas, A hurricane could strike Oʻahu during the coming storm season, possibly with greater ferocity due to climate change; and

Whereas, The strength of a hurricane striking Oʻahu could have broad, deep, and lasting impacts preventing recovery over a long period; and

Whereas, Without an undamaged urban Honolulu to send relief, as in the case of ʻIniki on Kauaʻi, the impacts on Oʻahu and the entire state are likely to be much harder to overcome; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Oʻahu County Democrats of the Democratic Party pf Hawaiʻi urge all neighborhood boards to support and participate in the community-based efforts to support the development of disaster preparedness plans for their neighborhood, understanding that before aid can come from outside sources, communities must respond by helping their own people to safety, providing food, water, emergency medical care and supplies, chainsaws to clear a path for emergency vehicles, child care and elder care for those in need, and other basic services those communities know for themselves; and be it

Resolved, That the Oʻahu County Democrats of the Democratic Party pf Hawaiʻi believe disaster response plans have long-term implications of adapting to a new lifestyle of internal community reliance for basic necessities, employment, power and transportation while the economy rebuilds; and be it

Ordered, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to all 33 neighborhood boards on Oʻahu, the Neighborhood Commission, the Department of Emergency Management, the Mayor of the City & County of Honolulu, and all members of the Honolulu City Council.