County Council Chair J Yoshimoto is orchestrating a major coup. This maneuver is designed to solidify power among a few wealthy powerbrokers who reside Hilo-side.. I am not sure there is any way to stop him unless Mayor Kenoi speaks in opposition. Then again Mayor Kenoi may fear alienating this Hilo crew and remain silent as if it is not his problem. But if Kenoi is that weak, he will never again be able to move forward with any proposal unless he first bows to obtain Yoshimoto’s approval. Yes he also may find Yoshimoto's move to unseat Yagong politically beneficial since Yagong is Kenoi's potential adversary in the next mayoral race. But if wisdom is with you dear Billy -- in the long run you will succeed by showing your leadership even if to do so benefits Yagong.

Here is what is happening. Yoshimoto plans to kick Hoffmann out of the position of Council Vice Chair, and make Emily Naeole the vice-chair. He figures that maneuver should keep Emily in line, so there is no longer any concern she might vote for her constituents but contrary to Yoshimoto's and Donald Ikeda’s positions. Pete Hoffmann would now be relegated to the position of Vice Chair of the Food and Energy Committee. Brenda Ford is to be removed from Chair of the Environmental Management and Public Works Committee, and instead be the Vice Chair. Finally Yoshimoto plans to dump Dominic Yagong from Chair of the Finance Committee. Freshman members of the Council will be put in charge of each of these committees, including elevating Ohishi to Finance Committee Chair.

I am guessing Yoshimoto may try to take this plundering of the Council one step further towards dictatorship, by instituting a rule that all proposed legislation must be approved by the Chair of the Committee before which the bill will be heard. In this way “Darth Vador” (meaning J Yoshimoto) can prevent Hoffmann Ford and Yagong from even proposing any legislation he does not agree with.

Now keep in mind there are really only three Council members who propose the bulk of the substantive legislation: Yagong, Hoffmann, and Ford. Yoshimoto and his surrogates have instead focused on bills that undo legislative accomplishments of the previous council. For example Yoshimoto supported the bill to eliminate support for the fair elections ordinance. He also supported the bill which would have effectively granted Monsanto corporation and other such corporations the right to totally control GMO usage on this island.

So too, which council members worked tirelessly to seek innovative solutions to achieve a balanced budget without cutting employees or imposing draconian furloughs: yes those same three Yagong, Hoffmann and Ford.

Now if you think this is an “east side” versus “west side” power move, you are correct. That perspective however is just the beginning of the story. What we are looking at is the creation of a Yoshimoto fiefdom, designed to concentrate power among a very small number of wealthy individuals who, yes, reside on the east side of Hawaii. Sadly for those less fortunate residing in the east side Districts, this concentration of power will not voice solutions to their needs.

I don’t believe Emily realizes how controlled she will be. Vice Chair to the Council sounds prestigious but the power has no real power or authority. On occasion I expect Yoshimoto and Ikeda will throw Emily “a bone” to discourage her from listening to the majority of her constituents (who may be far-sighted enough to realize she is being “played” by this status-quo Hilo power club).

The attempt to dethrone Yagong is the most interesting move. Hoffmann and Ford have always been marginalized (save during the 2% land conservation debates since Hoffmann was willing to support suspension of the 2% fund deposits, so briefly Yoshimoto treated Hoffmann as if he too were in the "buddy club"). But Yagong, removing him from the position of Chair of the FInance Committee is a far more complex power play. In fact, we may see some behind the scenes maneuving to keep Yagong aligned with the east side districts -- that is provided he not fuss that Hoffmann and Ford are effectively being put out to pasture.

Yagong is planning on challenging Billy Kenoi in the next mayoral race. My guess is that to obtain some support from the east side districts, following the recent election, Yagong was willing to not support Hoffmann as Council Chair and instead support Yoshimoto, possibly in exchange for a "promise" that he would be appointed Finance Committee Chairman. In a sense Yagong is being ostracized in an attempt to placate Mayor Kenoi, so that Kenoi is less likely to say anything in opposition to this power grab. But, Mayor Kenoi: don’t be tempted to support this power play by Yoshimoto.. Doing so might appeal to you in the short-run, but in the long-run it would undermine the public's trust in your leadership.

Anyway -- these are my opinions. Let's see what happens:

These leadership changes will be proposed in a series of resolutions (#200, #201, and #202) being considered by the County Council on Tuesday, June 16, 2009 at the at the Keahou Sheraton in Kona at 9:00 a. m. If you want to testify in opposition to these changes, show up at 9:00 to testify. In theory everyone has three minutes to testify on each resolution, which would allow for up to 9 minutes of testimony:

Resolution #200-removes Pete Hoffman as Vice Chair of the council
and makes Council member Emily Naole Vice Chair of the County Council.

Resolution #201- reorganizes the Chairmanships and vice-chairs of the council (as discussed above)

Resolution #202 combines Human Services with the Finance Committee and Food and Sustainability with Environmental Management AND reassigns chairmanships