Ford was right about term limits
County Council member Holeka Inaba of Kona is nuts if he thinks longer term limits are better than the current two-year terms.
In general, members of the council already waste the majority of their terms advocating for silly resolutions or bad bills. Sure, they get it right once in a while, but that’s the exception.
Four-year terms would make this even worse. There would be years of little effort, sprinkled with a few months of actual work as the next election nears.
Two year-terms are plenty, for the reasons (former Councilwoman) Brenda Ford pointed out.
Big Island voters rejected longer term limits in 2020. Council: Please don’t waste your time — and ours — on this new proposal.
Jean Ramsey
Waikoloa
More needs to be done to curb abuse
There have been a number of incidents regarding the issue of domestic violence, leaving victims with a lifetime of trauma — or worse, victims are killed.
Recently on the Big Island, there was an incident regarding a father who struck and threatened his family, resulting in his son suffering immense head trauma and paralysis. These types of incidents should influence the creation of more safe space resources for families and victims and education on domestic violence.
There is a difference between interpersonal violence in relationships and abuse in households that affect children and pets — but it is still violence, and against the law.
I believe if there were more safe spaces for those who go through these experiences, it could improve the amount of those who recover from them and reduce the amount of times it happens.
In addition to this, there should be free educational resources on what abuse is and where those who go through it can get help, because many of those who experience abuse do not know how to get help.
Kiyomi Watanabe
Hilo
Longer council terms a bad idea
In the front-page article, “Longer council terms?” in the March 31 newspaper, Councilman Holeka Inaba was quoted as saying that longer terms are in the public interest.
Just the opposite is true.
Longer terms are only in the interest of professional politicians trying to keep their jobs. When our country was formed, it was set up so a member of the public could get elected, serve their term, and then go back to their previous occupations.
Trying to make government service a carrier was not intended. I think the current term limits should either be kept as they are or shortened.
George Jensen
Kurtistown