Government sometimes does respond to protest

A aw enacted by the Legislature two years ago with broad zoning exemptions for projects on state land is limping to its death at its point of origin. Gov. Neil Abercrombie says he would consider its repeal, and several bills have been introduced in the new current session to do so.

The governor is responding to protests from environmental, labor and some Native Hawaiian interests against the Public Land Development Corp. after he defended it last year. State Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz, one of the law’s driving forces, said in November that he would be open to its repeal but instead has offered a version aimed at removing some of its most controversial elements. State officials recognized the overwhelming opposition late last year and slowed down its implementation. It’s proof that the system responds — sometimes in unexpected ways.

Campaign spending regulations still a good idea

Ever since the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the Citizens United case essentially gave corporations free rein to spend unlimited money as a form of political speech, you’d think small-town efforts to curb private money in elections would be deep-sixed.

Apparently not. Voter Owned Hawaii, the nonprofit advocating publicly funded elections and the champion of a pilot project advancing them in Hawaii County Council races, is trying to expand an amended form of the pilot elsewhere in the state.

This is going to be a tough fight. But even if many millions in private money flooded into the political arena in the last election, the big super PACs aren’t likely to hover over races for our state House and Senate.

So is the Voter Owned bill a fight worth having? We’d say so. Elections should be owned by the voter.