Residents from all corners of Oahu urged members of the state Reapportionment Commission to make further changes to proposed political boundary maps and make greater effort to keep communities together.
Others argued that the proposal might be unconstitutional, based on the effect it has on a dissident faction in the state House that has clashed with Speaker Calvin Say.
Community members spoke Wednesday at the second of two meetings on Oahu and Hawaii island to gather public reaction to the proposed plan unveiled last week.
The commission must now take the comments and determine whether any changes need to be made. A final proposal is to be presented Monday with the expectation of adoption on Wednesday.
Commission Chairwoman Victoria Marks said she could not predict whether any changes would be made.
"I think the technical committee will be looking at things and we’ll see what they come up with," Marks said. "We’ve got a lot to go through and think about and we’ll see what we can do."
The latest proposal was drawn quickly after the state Supreme Court on Jan. 4 tossed out maps approved last year, siding with Big Island plaintiffs who sued, arguing the commission included too many so-called "nonpermanent residents" in the population count used to allocate seats among the islands.
Including those residents — military members, their dependents and nonresident students — maintained a larger population base on Oahu and negated population gains on Hawaii island that should have resulted in a shift of a Senate seat to Hawaii from Oahu.
The new maps were based on a population base that excludes about 108,000 nonpermanent residents, giving Hawaii island a fourth Senate seat.
The exclusion also shifts boundaries in House and Senate districts on Oahu, placing seven pairs of incumbents — one pair in the Senate and the rest in the House — in the same districts.
Neal Milner, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Hawaii, testified that he thought the plan could violate Article IV, Section 6 of the state Constitution, which says no district shall be drawn as to unduly favor a person or political faction.
In the six situations where sitting lawmakers were placed into the same House districts — meaning they would either have to run against another incumbent or move into an open district — four involve members of a dissident faction of the state House that has sought to oust Speaker Calvin Say.
"The commission should take a closer look at the degree to which its proposed plan penalizes other members of this dissident faction," Milner said. "I’m not here representing a particular faction, I’m here saying there’s constitutional standards that are supposed to be followed and I think that you may not have followed them there."
Rep. Della Au Belatti presented a letter to the commission outlining the dissidents’ constitutional concerns. It was signed by her and by Reps. Sylvia Luke, Roy Takumi, Scott Saiki, Chris Lee and K. Mark Takai.
Most of the comments from the 26 people testifying Wednesday focused on the boundaries and lines that they argued seemed to be drawn haphazardly without concerns for keeping communities intact.
Community members from Newtown, North Shore, Mokuleia, Waialua, Makiki, Moiliili, Manoa, Kailua and other areas opposed their communities being split or included with an adjacent community that does not share their legislative concerns.
Several members of the Newtown planned community in Aiea were among the most vocal, asking that their district be redrawn to keep the community in single House and Senate districts. The proposal would split it into two House districts.
"Unity is our strength," said Don Devaney, president of the Newtown Estates Community Association. "Dividing the unity that we now experience in dealing with the Legislature … would actually weaken our position."
Once the commission approves the maps, they would go to the state Office of Elections. The office has said it would need the final maps by Wednesday in order to process candidate applications for state offices and establish precincts.
Officials then have to assign voters to those precincts and send out notification cards so people know where to vote.