Clean Elections Hawaii Coalition rallies at State Capitol for publicly financed elections

The Clean Elections Hawaii Coalition rallied at the State Capitol on Monday to call on House Speaker Scott Saiki and other House leaders to support legislation for publicly financed elections.

Senate Bill 2381 would create an alternative to what coalition members say is “the pay-to-play campaign finance system that fosters a culture of corruption in our politics.”

The coalition maintains that more than 70% of Hawaiʻi registered voters support the legislation and that it has been endorsed by every good government group in Hawaiʻi and former elected officials including governors and mayors.

It has been referred to as the “one more shot” that legislators have to accomplish major reform. The coalition said that, despite public support for the measure, the Senate Bill 2381 was deferred on Thursday by House Judiciary Chair David Tarnas, although he previously supported it.

“If Speaker Saiki truly believes in the legislation he authored, there are multiple avenues for him to continue to advance the legislation, including by urging Chair Tarnas to amend the bill and re-schedule it for a hearing before Tuesday’s deadline, or, as supporters point out, by reviving last year’s SB 1543, which is still alive after stalling in conference committee,” the coalition said.

“There is still time to pass legislation establishing a clean elections system,” House District 5 Rep. Jeanne Kapela said at the rally. “The people of Hawai’i shouldn’t have to wait any longer for legislators to restore trust and accountability to local government.”

“We need to get money out of politics, said Sergio Alcubilla, executive director of the Hawai’i Workers Center. “The influence of money in politics puts our working-class communities at a disadvantage when it comes to ensuring their voices are heard. More often than not, the interests of large donors connected to corporate interests drown out the voices of our working class.”

“There is not a soul in the Legislature that can deny the efficacy of this program in bringing more Native Hawaiian and other underrepresented voices into our democracy in a meaningful way,” said Camron Hurt, program manager for Common Cause Hawaiʻi. “Yet, when it is time to make true systemic change and not just pay lip service, the people are without a champion.”

Citizens can call Speaker Saiki’s office at 808-586-6100 and write to Speaker Saiki, House Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee Chair Tarnas, and their own representatives here and urge them to keep the clean elections legislation alive.