Citizens united: Honolulu residents, public interest advocates and even some city officials have outdone themselves in this year’s Honolulu City Charter review that aims to amend the city’s foundational governing document once every decade through voter-approved ballot measures.

Friday was the deadline for proposals to be submitted and the Honolulu Charter Commission had received at least 240 of them by the end of the day. At least that’s how many are now posted on the commission’s website. Commission staff didn’t respond to a question about an official tally on Friday.

In 2015-2016, the last time the commission met, people submitted 154 proposals. Commissioners whittled those down into 20 ballot propositions, 16 of which passed.

This year sets a new and significantly higher record and The Sunshine Blog can hardly wait to start wading through them in more detail to see what the citizenry has on its collective mind.

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For now, here are some top-line takeaways:

There are numerous proposals to revamp the Honolulu Police Commission, ranging from how members are selected to who can hire the police chief to creating an independent office of civilian investigators to handle police complaints and misconduct.

There are numerous proposals to oversee housing development and affordable housing including ways to funnel more money into housing funds that help pay for low-income housing and shelter for homeless populations.

There are a number of proposals to change how we do local elections — from increasing the number of city council representatives to changing from a district system to an island-wide at-large system. Several people are suggesting ways to do ranked-choice voting or top two systems.

Re-thinking how the city budget is put together and managed. Merging the Emergency Medical Services with the Fire Department. Revamping the Neighborhood Board system and how members are elected. Changing and improving the Department of Planning and Permitting. A broad reorganization of city government. Requiring that voters approve any new major projects such as the stadium or big housing developments.

Those are just a few of the many ideas reflected in the charter proposals. Hang on to your hats, as they say, it’s going to be a wild ride in the coming year.

Help is on the way: And speaking of potential changes to the Honolulu Police Commission, the City Council last week happily passed on to the Public Safety Committee a new victim, er, nominee to fill out the seven-member panel which has been short since the abrupt departure of Carrie Okinaga earlier this year. She skedaddled as soon as the controversy erupted over former HPD Chief Joe Logan. You’ll recall he suddenly retired under pressure from the mayor and the Police Commission found itself stuck with hiring a new chief, something it has had to do three times now in the last 10 years. For various reasons ranging from public corruption and a federal prison sentence to general performance issues, no one seems to last.

The new guy is Blake Parsons, the CEO of the Boy Scouts organization in Hawaiʻi, called the Scouting America Aloha Council. And he’s an Eagle Scout, according to his resume included with his council application.

Parsons has a long business and civic history in Hawaiʻi including graduating from University of Hawaiʻi Hilo. He also lists working for Linda Lingle’s GOP Senate campaign in 2012 and executive director of the Hawaiʻi Republican Party in 2015.

Before he moved on to the Boy Scouts in 2023, Parsons worked for the Sheet Metal, Air Conditioning & Roofing Contractors Association, both in Hawaiʻi and on the mainland.

He is Mayor Rick Blangiardi’s second new Police Commission appointee this year. Chris Magnus, a veteran former police chief, recently took the seat long held by Doug Chin, a Honolulu attorney and former state attorney general among other top jobs.

Magnus is already bringing new ideas to the table (in a low key sort of way) and last week led a commission discussion of how to beef up the Police Commission, especially when it comes to the investigations the panel is supposed to oversee.

The Blog hopes Blangiardi is finally appointing members who actually want to be a public watchdog over the police department and will, like Magnus already seems to be doing, put in the extra time and energy that’s necessary to stay on top of policing policies and practices.

Maui wowee: Folks on the Valley Isle have been wondering whether Richard Bissen would seek a second term as mayor, given his very challenging and controversial first term — the wildfires, the short-term rental debate, a clash with the police chief.

On Saturday, Bissen announced his decision: Yep, he’s running.

“Together, we’ve faced tremendous challenges, and together, we’ve laid the foundation for Maui Nui’s path,” Bissen said in a press release that included video and pictures of his ʻohana and da mayah himself wearing, as he does, a stylish aloha shirt.

“Now, we must continue the progress we’ve begun — rebuilding Lahaina, strengthening our communities, and restoring hope for every family who calls Maui home.”

Maui County has a history of tossing mayors when it tires of them, however. Just ask Mike Victorino, who lost to Bissen in 2022. The Blog expects a contested primary, where the top two finishers advance to the general election even if one candidate breaks the 50% count in votes.

Revolving door: No official reason was given for Luis Salaveria’s early departure from the Green administration last month after serving as director of the Department of Budget and Finance. The Blog figured he’d go back to lobbying, something that he’s done from time to time and is all too common in Hawaiʻi politics and governance.

Nope. Salaveria is instead slated to be the next University of Hawaiʻi vice president for budget and finance and chief financial officer. If confirmed by the UH Board of Regents, Salaveria could begin his new gig soon, replacing Kalbert Young (himself a former B&F boss), who is now the executive director of the Hawaiʻi State Employees’ Retirement System.

“His proven record of achievement in complex financial situations makes him uniquely qualified to ensure the long-term financial stability of our 10-campus system,” UH President Wendy Hensel said in a press release.

That means Salaveria will still have to tangle with state Sen. Donna Kim, who never has a shortage of opinions on UH budgets. Just ask Kalbert Young.

Are you not entertained?: It was a year ago that a Civil Beat editorial opined that Brenton Awa may have crossed an ethical line when the state senator used his Instagram account and office time, equipment and facilities to promote the candidacy of a fellow Republican, Samantha DeCorte. At the time DeCorte was stepping down as Awa’s office manager to run for a state Senate seat of her own. (She won).

The Hawaiʻi State Ethics Commission had no comment at the time, but on Monday it held a contested case hearing that could lead to a nearly $1,000 fine for Awa, who is now running for Congress.

A notice of violation from the Ethics Commission on Aug. 20 quotes directly from the IG video: “Getting Sam in as Waiʻanae senator would unlock our full potential in both communities to represent not just there, but represent the entire State of Hawaiʻi.”

Awa: “Sam, any last words?”

DeCorte: “Uh, this Tuesday, Election Day, Kapolei Hale.”

Senator Awa: “You guys know what to do. Aloha.”

As another GOP lawmaker wearing cowboy boots might remark, “Oops.”

“The Commission takes this violation seriously because it strikes at the heart of the public’s trust in government — that public resources will not be used for private political gain,” the commission wrote. “The use of an official platform, staff time, and government facilities to promote a specific candidate undermines the fairness of our democratic process and violates long-established ethics principles.”

In his written rebuttal Sept. 5, Awa countered that he had not used an official social media account in making the post and declared what he called “a general denial” of the commission’s claims. He also asked to plead his case in person, which he did Oct. 30.

You can watch the proceedings here, but Awa essentially argues that, while he understands “the perception” that he may have been campaigning, in his view he was simply doing his job by informing his constituents “in an entertaining way” of the departure of a top staffer.

Proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law in Hawaiʻi State Ethics Commission Vs. Brenton Awa are due on Monday. Perhaps the senator will post it all on social.