The Hawaiʻi

State Constitutional Convention Clearinghouse

Information Related to Hawaiʻi's November 6, 2018 State Constitutional Convention Referendum

2008 Cycle Ads:

1) Video Ads

Against a Constitutional Convention (addressed to the general public)

Source: Hawaii Alliance
Title: Headlines
Date: October 10, 2008
Length: :30
Description: A con con will cost taxpayers millions, just read the papers.

Source: Hawaii Alliance
Title: Endorsements
Date: October 29, 2008
Length: :30
Description: Vote No on the Constitutional Convention.

Source: Hawaii Alliance
Title: Hawaii — Vote NO for CON CON on Nov 4th!
Date: October 9, 2008
Length: 1:54
Description: On November 4th, 2008, the State of Hawaii will ask its voters to decide if the State should hold a Constitutional Convention. VOTE NO! With the recent cuts to education in addition to a poor economy, Hawaii cannot afford a multi-million dollar Constitutional Convention. Money for classroom resources or for a convention? You decide.

Source: Hawaii Alliance
Title: Vote No on Con Con – Anne Feder Lee
Date: September 22, 2008
Length: :32
Description: Anne Feder Lee on the Hawaii Constitutional Convention.

Source: Hawaii Alliance
Title: Isaac Moriwake
Date: October 10, 2008
Length: :30
Description: Isaac is voting no on Con Con to protect the natural beauty of Hawaii.

Source: Hawaii Alliance
Title: Leina`ala Kalama Hein
Date: October 10, 2008
Length: :30
Description: Leina`ala Kalama Heine is voting no on Con Con to protect our rights.


Against a Constitutional Convention (addressed to teachers)

Source: Hawaii State Teachers Association (HSTA) Educational Alliance
Title: Hawaii — Vote NO for CON CON on Nov 4th!
Date: October 9, 2008
Length: 1:54
Description: On November 4th, 2008, the State of Hawaii will ask its voters to decide if the State should hold a Constitutional Convention. VOTE NO! With the recent cuts to education in addition to a poor economy, Hawaii cannot afford a multi-million dollar Constitutional Convention. Money for classroom resources or for a convention? You decide.


For a Constitutional Convention

Source: VoteYesHawaii
Date: March 15, 2008
Length: 1:15
Description: Cec Heftel, 5-term U.S. House of Representatives [Hawaii 1st District] talks of the need of a Constitutional Convention in Hawaii. Vote Yes for the Con-Con November 4. Obituaries: Remembering Cec HeftelHawaii News Now.

Source: VoteYesHawaii
Title: Vote Yes for a Hawaii Constitutional Convention
Date: March 15, 2008
Length: :34
Description: Empower the people of Hawaii to hold their first constitutional convention in 30 years to improve public education, lower the cost of health care, and make government accountable. We can do better!

Source: VoteYesHawaii
Title: Lt. Governor Aiona on a Hawaii Con Con
Date: July 22, 2008
Length: 4:12
Description: Lt. Governor Aiona discusses holding a constitutional convention in Hawaii. Voters will have the opportunity to decide whether to convene a constitutional convention in the November 2008.

Source: Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Title: Price Tag of the Hawaii Legislature: Putting the Cost of a Con-Con in Perspective
Date: September 6, 2008
Length: 8:20
Description: Grassroot Institute of Hawaii President Jamie Story discusses the recent cost studies from the Legislative Reference Bureau and the Lt. Governor’s Con-Con Committee.


Missing Videos from HawaiiConCon.org:

Title: Malia Zimmerman interviews Della Au Belatti and…
Date: October 15, 2008
Length: 28:33

Title: Con Con Forum Kauai
Date: October 9, 2008
Length: 37:07

Title: Hawaii Alliance Sponsors “NO to ConCon”
Date: September 25, 2008
Length: 0:30

Title: News coverage of ConCon Primer event
Date: September 8, 2008
Length: 0:56


2) Print Ads

Against a Constitutional Convention

Vote No Flyer, Hawaii Alliance.

 

 Vote No Flyer, HiConCon.com, April 21, 2008.

Offshore Corporations Want to End
Our Rights

Republican-led Constitutional Convention is a Sneak Attack
on Your Right to:

Water
Shoreline Access
Good Paying Union Jobs
Privacy

Don’t be fooled by the misleading slogans.  Big money desperately wants to gut our constitution – and they can do it if we open the door to them with a Constitutional Convention (ConCon).

Water: A&B, Wailuku Water, ML&P and EMI all want you to believe that “Equal Access to Water” is a good thing.  Sounds good, doesn’t it? But the Hawai’i constitution already says that the people (that’s you and me) own the water and lays out the use priorities.  What so-called “equal access” will do is give the water to the big landowners and take it away from the people.

You think we have a hard time getting water now?  At least now, we can go to court and get our water back.  Once the Constitutionally guaranteed water hierarchy is gutted, we won’t have a leg to stand on.  Good-bye public water, hello big-land-owner water-gouging.

Shoreline Access:  Think Hawaiian rights and entitlements are just for Hawaiians?  Think again.  Your right to visit beaches in front of hotels depends on the Constitutionally guaranteed Hawaiian rights.  Without Hawaiian rights, the hotels and shoreline estates can close off access to the beaches like they do on the mainland.

Good Paying Jobs: Here’s another deceptive slogan: “Right to Work”.  What that really means is right to be exploited, right to become a low-paid worker and right to lose your benefits because Right to Work is Union-busting. Multinational corporations want to get this so-called right to work language into the constitution so they can eliminate union jobs.  Don’t fall for their exploitive and deceptive words.

Privacy Rights: Our existing constitution has some of the strongest language favoring privacy rights of any state.

Nuclear Plants:  The same corporations who own most of the TV and radio stations, GE and Westinghouse, are pushing to build new nuclear plants.  Our constitution (for very good reasons) prohibits nuclear plants and allowing disposal of radioactive material. In fact, there is a hair brained idea floating around to site a nuke on Kaho’olawe. (Fortunately, not being proposed by any utility.) One spill and the beaches of Maui, Hawai’i, Moloka’i and Lana’i are contaminated.

Hospitals: Progress on getting acute care hospitals for Kihei and Lahaina is slow. We have two groups.  One group wants private hospitals and the other wants a plan whereby Kihei and Lahaina get acute care hospitals which are tied into Maui Memorial and are public hospitals available to all.

 But those who want the private hospital are impatient with the Certificate of Need which provides an island-wide planning process for hospitals.   There is no doubt Lahaina needs an acute care facility ASAP. But using the sledge hammer of rewriting our constitution is not a safe way to accomplish this.

Whether you support the private hospital or the idea of satellite hospitals, rewriting the constitution is not necessary to accomplish either goal.  Those who (deservedly) want better care at MM and acute care in Lahaina are being used by the far right in an agenda that goes well beyond hospitals.

Delegates: Pro-ConCon forces tout this a “Democracy in Action” and talk about the “people” rewriting the constitution.  But think about it.  Do you have the time and money to take off work for days or weeks, go to ‘Oahu and rewrite the constitution?

Who can take the time and not lose their job or income?  Lobbyists and Corporate representatives, that’s who!  Do you trust them to rewrite our constitution for our benefit?

Protect Hawaii’s Constitution

to Protect Your Rights

Don’t Be Fooled By Big-Money BS!

Vote NO on Con Con


More Reasons to vote No on Constitutional Convention

  • No Compelling Need for a Con Con
  • Cost Too High
  • Emotional Issues Are Likely to Dominate
  • The Legislature’s Authority to Initiate Constitutional Amendments Should Be Used Instead
  • The Legislature has Authority to Propose a Convention at Any Time
  • Constitution Should Not Be Cluttered With Detail
  • Don’t Fall For Big Money BS

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