 This is State Tech Hawaii, Community Matters here. We just got through all of the primaries. Now we need to look at parts of the common election. And one of the biggest things in the election will be on the ballot and it says, do you want a constitutional convention? So today, we are going to talk about that very thing. Do you want a constitutional convention? What is a constitutional convention and why it's on the ballot? So to do that, we are going to talk to my friend Ken Farm, who has worked on this issue for a very long time. So who better than to talk to somebody that has really been a part of looking at this? Welcome Ken. Thank you. Thank you. I just want to say that I have been looking at this and however there's people who are much older than me that has done much more and I will put a plug in for them to say what they did. So let me tell you, the Hawaii Constitution mandates that once a decade, and November six, the people of Hawaii be granted the right to call a state constitutional convention. Now that is in the Constitution. It is mandated. It is mandated. Hawaii's framers included this mandate to secure the people's most fundamental and precious political right, the right to reform their government. So for those of you that complain, even in the face of the legislature's opposition, so of course the legislature's going to oppose, naturally they're comfortable. They like it like it is. So that you have to begin to think as we go through this process that the Constitution is more than just a piece of paper that every now and then we bother to read that it is what our fundamental way we operate in the state of Hawaii and the United States, they're two different things, but we do have this. And so it will be on the ballot and you get to choose yes or no. Now the trick here is if you leave it blank, that counts. On all of the other candidates, if you leave it blank, it's just a blank vote. On this one, there is the no count and the Supreme Court gave us that one, therefore. So talk to us, talk to Ken, I'm not going to do all the talk. Oh, no, no. So and I appreciate that and there's a good background about it. One of the things I think that we have to consider is for myself personally, I am against the concon for this time around and the reason being is because of the narratives that have been surrounding what the current constitutional convention is going to be like. One of the ones that I use and I've heard a lot is a term called limited convention. A lot of people are talking about how we're going to have a limited convention for whatever specific issue that you're looking at. And that right there is incorrect. There is no such thing as a limited convention. There's nothing that we can find in anywhere that this convention is going to be limited and I'm sure that you've had experience with that and heard people talk about that as well. Well, what we have to look at is that a constitution written is like any contract. Once you open it, everything is on the table, everything. So how do we get to the concon? If you vote yes, if you say yes, then aha, what happens is if enough people say yes, then there's another election. People have to decide to run as delegates, right? Now that opens up another can of worms. So if people want a limited convention, they will have their delegates and they will spend money to run just like any other election. Well, I think number one is there is no such thing as mentioned before as a limited convention. There is no such thing. I'm agreeing with you. So people have been using that term, talking to people about it and that narrative of, you know, we have these issues that we have that are important. But we can create the convention just for these issues and then that's it, aha, right? And that's not it. That's not it. So we have to make sure that people understand the full breadth of what is going on. Like I said, I know people's hearts are in the right place. There is definitely a need for change. But is this the right mechanism for do-do-self? What we have with this concon and the delegates, everybody gets to, if that's what you want, then you have to run as a delegate. You've got to get your people to support you as a delegate. While there are other people that don't want it, they will have their delegates. They will run also. And so it's like anything else. Now once everybody has agreed, the legislature has to then fund this thing, so they get to choose. We're going to fund this and by funding we mean the place it will be held, all of the office staff, the computers, the paper, turning on the lights, all of those come into the budget and if the legislature says, we can't handle this, you know, they'll find a way not to do this. So now that we've got delegates and we have a place to have the convention and the legislature has approved it, now what? So like we said, everything's on the table, right? So I mean, like I said, there's certainly need for change and I want to also emphasize that that is not saying everything is always right in terms of some parts of the Constitution, but it does offer the protections that are needed. For example, for Native Hawaiians, in terms of some of the things that they have on there that's specific in the Constitution, not the statement I followed all the time, but at least it's there and we can go back to it. One thing too is labor, you know, we have the right to collective bargain. A lot of people see that either way, but that's how a lot of people in Hawaii was able to live in Hawaii. You know, we talk about the cost of living and the benefits that go along with work, that wasn't there all the time, you know, weekends were never part of it. So there's a lot of things that we take for granted, even medical care that could be on the table. We have to look at all those things, is this the right vehicle for that change? And that's what we need to ask ourselves. Once we understand that there's no such thing as a limited convention, that everything's going to be on the table, another thing to look at too is there's also groups that oppose some of the way that Hawaii has been going on in the first place that will use outside money to try to change what's going on here too. So it's not just Hawaii itself and this is our own little area, there's going to be outside influences as well, such as Alec, you know, American Legislative Exchange Council and other types of groups too as well. You know, one of the things that was in the early Constitution was changing the age of which people could vote and that didn't pass. It was 21, they wanted it down to 18, that didn't pass, but the federal government changed that. That's right. That was during the war, during Vietnam and people are saying, look, if we're old enough to die, we're old enough to vote, so the feds changed that. So that was one of those times when the federal government overrode the local, but which was a good thing. Now it's hard to believe that we ever went through that. There were so many things that 1950, let me make sure before I say something, 1950, yes, I know that's the dark ages for you. But 1950 convention was called by the territory's legislature and convened in order to draft a state constitution for Hawaii so that Hawaii could be admitted to the union. 63 delegates were elected to be members of the convention. The convention lasted 101 days from April 4th to July 22nd, 1950. The constitution was ratified at the general election on November 7th, and that was one of the largest vote, turnouts we have ever had, 82,000 people turned out to vote for that. And at the population of the time that was, that was you. That's right. Yeah. And that was the beginning of the move for statehood. Well, no, that's not the beginning, but that was the move for legislation. To become a state, not annex, but to become a state. Another thing I wanted to bring out too, since we've all talked about, you know, just, you know, why it's bad, you know, why it's something that we want to actually visit and understand, you know, what it means as to, you know, words like limited convention, things that could be lost, as well as groups that could oppose, you know, things that, how things are in Hawaii in the first place, is people who want change, there's avenues. And one of the greatest avenues, I think, is a constitutional convention. If you have enough people that have the fervor to want a constitutional convention, then there's also for constitutional amendment. And keep those people engaged. There are things that do need to change. I 100% believe that there are things that do need to change. You know, I think that there needs to be more protections for, for, sorry, for employees. Another thing that needs to happen for is like the constitutional amendment for teachers in terms of how we want to fund. I believe that's something that definitely needs to be looked at and I'm in support of. But also is, there are other things too, as well, we don't want to risk opening the entire thing up and losing things that are good, you know, that people have worked really hard for. Yeah. Because water rights are in, we don't want somebody to say, hey, I want to redo this water thing. That's right. You know? Yeah. So we, yeah, it can be, but now you talk about constitutional amendments, those have to go through the legislature. The legislature puts them on the ballot and then we get to vote, yay or nay. This year there will be one on taxes. There's only two questions. One is on tax and this one is on the con con. I think that part of the issue for me, since I'm old enough to remember most of this, is that people do not understand what it is and what it isn't. And when they look at the ballot, I would bet a lot will leave it blank because they don't understand consequently, you know, the nose went. However, I guess where I'm going with that is our lack of education. That people do not understand how the government works, who does what and what this means. If it's opened, even if it's not, what are the constitutional guidelines? So if we don't learn, if we don't teach early school what this is about, how can we expect them to vote yes or no? And I definitely agree with you. I think that, you know, we've had this discussion before, along with you and a few other people who are decision makers in this. And you know, I do want to see that we have civics taught more, I mean they are taught at the elementary school. I mean, when I was there, but I want to see it taught, you know, throughout. You know, there's some people who want to say that we want to just, you know, teach it at the university level or that is too late. You know, I think that that's something that any fundamental, fundamental citizen needs to know what's going on. And from those times while they're in school, while they graduate, that's something that should be kind of incorporated with all along. Because it is the government for the people, by the people. And unless you know that you are the people, you know, we the people, that you have an opportunity to participate at lots of levels, you don't have to be elected. So we need to take a break. And when we come back, let's look at some other parts of this concoction. Sure. Hey, be right back. This is Think Tech Hawaii, raising public awareness. I just walked by and I said, what's happening, guys? They told me they were making music. Guys, don't forget to check me out right here at the Prince of Investing. I'm your host, Prince Dykes. Each and every Tuesdays at 11 a.m. Hawaii time, I'm going to be right here. Stop by here from some of the best investment minds across the globe. And real estate, finances, stocks, hedge funds, managers, all that great stuff. Thank you. Aloha. I'm Marcia Joyner, and this is Community Matters. Today, we're talking with Ken Farm about the Constitutional Convention and the question which is on the ballot in November. So back to Ken. We have gone through this every 10 years. Some years, the knows win, and we don't have one. But let me see, we said 1950, that was about statehood. And that was the largest turnout ever. And we talk about no turnout, but that was it. It didn't say that 82,000 people voted for or against. It's just that was the amount of people that turned out. And in a 1950s Hawaii, that was a lot. That was huge. And 1968 was one of the big ones. And let me read this to get it right, 82 delegates to the 1968 convention were chosen at a special election. There were 82 delegates, and most of them that were incumbents or ex-legislators. So we know what that means. And that bodes for if we have one now, and the way people vote for names they recognize, don't we know that guess who's going to be? Yes. Yeah. So, and it was the 1965 rule, the federal district court says Hawaii appointed its state senate seats were invalid the way they were appointed. The constitutional convention was called to amend that, the way the seats were now. And 1971, of course, what I remember is that, and up to that point, no, the 70s, we had two member house districts. They were large, but we had two. And most of them had Democrats and Republicans. So now we come to ConCon, and it, to redistrict, right? And that was the 78 ConCon, which was, we tend to think of the 78 ConCon as all about Hawaiians, because that was the excitement. That was the one that created the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, changed the emblem, and state said that you had to teach Hawaiian culture in the schools and university. So we tend to think it, but the big thing, or I thought one of the big things, is that the Republicans were campaigning on, we need to have a single member district because it's cheaper than funding two people for each district. So they collapsed the districts, and guess what happened in 1980? No Republicans won, and they've been complaining about the Democrats ever since, but they campaigned on two member districts cost too much money. So with the district, when they redistricted in 1980, they went to a single member district, and not one Republican won, and they've been complaining about the Democrats ever since. So that's a side story. What else happened? 76, of course, most of the time, oh, okay, 1976, the Constitutional Convention, Amendment 2 on the ballot about housing, the state shall have power to provide or to assist in housing, slum clearance, development, and rehabilitation of substandard areas, and to exercise such power is deemed to be for the public use and purpose. Now, have they done that? No, they haven't. I'm sorry to say this, you know, they haven't done that. Now, another part, too, is if we were to have a Constitutional Convention and it's gone, you know, then they would, all right, we wouldn't have any kind of recourse, right? So I think that is something that we want to consider. Like, we keep mentioning, you know, people who, there are issues. And I think that the Constitutional Amendment, it is a messy process, but you know what? You're going to have more of a say in terms of getting those people. I think that you can get the people who want these changes as a larger group of people for the different types of things that you're looking at. And it's a much more safer manner in terms of things that you talked about, of Native Hawaiians and the protections for you have education. That is taught in high schools, elementary schools, middle schools, as well as in the university setting. When you think about these things, and it never occurs to you that Article 8, Section 4, it says the state has the right to do this. Have they done that? No. Absolutely not. Do they even know that it's in the Constitution? But if there's enough people that are willing to, you know, go around something like this and, you know, either push for a part of an amendment or at least be part of the votership, then that's something that, you know, could constitute them winning their seat or losing their seat. And that's, I think they're going to move in the direction of falling that part of the Constitution. 1978 is the biggie. Right. That's the one we all talk about. And the Constitution established term limits, term limits for state office holders. How do we not do that? They just forgot that. We have term limits for the county, all the counties have term limits. But the Constitution established term limits for state office holders, provided a requirement for an annual balanced budget and laid the groundwork for the return of federal lands such as Koholavi. And in an effort to right wrongs done toward Native Hawaiians since the overthrow of the kingdom in 1893. Now, that's word for word in the Constitution. Do we, does anybody know that? That's something that we have to, you know, look at. We have civics education usually at the federal level in terms of, you know, we have, you know, judiciary, executive and we have legislative. But I think also that needs to be taught also at the state level. Because that has more of an effect in some cases than anything else. The state constitutional. But it's there. You know, I didn't make it up. I'm not that good. We talked about, I mentioned to you and our audience, that at the CONCON, the 78 CONCON, there were all of these legislators and incumbents. See if any of these names you recognize. 1978. Carol Fuginaga. Helene Hale. You remember Helene Hale. Jeremy Harris. Lessie Hara Jr. Barbara Morimoto. Joseph Suki. And John David Wahe, the third. All of which were delegates. And they're still out there. So, if we have a CONCON, how many of our sitting legislators will be delegates? I think there's quite a bit that will be. Does that change anything? The change is anything. But I mean, it opens up more of, like you say, Pandora's box, as once we open it up, than other types of outside forces have the ability to change things on there. Yeah. That's the real, the outside forces. What do you think, who do you think would be an outside force? The outside forces that most people, and I, you know, we have discussions of people who, you know, who is the enemy when it comes to this, and I hate using the term enemy, but who are the ones who would just be against these types of, you know, things like a constitutional convention? Or who would tend, I guess I phrased it wrong, who would benefit from major change? I think one of the ones who have the ability to benefit from it were groups like Alec that we mentioned before, American Legislative Exchange Council. They are at the forefront when it comes to things, trying to slowly peel away, you know, labor rights, workers, you know, protections, and that's something that we need to be aware of. I know there's certain groups that are aware of it, but the general public needs to know when they hear these things or, you know, this advertisement is paid for and bought by, you know, this group, whatever it is. So I think that goes along with the civics education that we talked about. Well, we have marriage equality. It would be open. Medical aid and dying. Minimum wage. And our medical care, which we tout as the best in the nation. 1974 Pripyat Healthcare Act? Yes. All of those... It has its issues. I grant you, you know... I mean, all of those things are open, and if you've got people that have money that want to do away with that, that can get enough delegates, then we have an issue. We have a real problem. Well, if people think that it's only going to be germane to just Hawaii, like whatever influences are just going to be from Hawaii, and that's it, and just people from Hawaii. But we have to understand that there's an outside world out there, and they are going to, you know, like, for example, Alec and other groups like that, that will bring and use their money through whatever organization we have, what's called a state policy network that is run through, you know, through Koch Industries that use that as a funding method to get money to different types of organizations. Now, the thing about it is that they will put even more resources into what that agenda is. And if it means, you know, we lose our 1974 Pripyat Healthcare Act. There's people who I know who don't like the way it's done, you know, the way it's currently done. It cuts a lot of people out of it. But are we going to risk doing that and not having anything at all? You know? I think as we make those changes that's important, we talked about constitutional amendments. We do need to think, I think we need to, what I found, okay, I lost it. Anyway. Not a paper there. Not too much paper, too much paper. I think that we need, not just you and me, we need to really talk about this so that people thoroughly understand. I think part of this low voter turnout is that people don't think they have something to vote for. Agreed. Most people are voting against. But we need people to understand what it is and how important that voting for that. So, I'm asking you, as we move down closer to November, will you come back and let's talk some more? Sure. Thank you. It's always a pleasure to spend time with you. Aloha. Aloha. And we'll be seeing you next time.