FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE             April 14, 2005                        

Release No. NC-2

 DEADLINE NEARS FOR NEIGHBORHOOD BOARD BALLOTING

Monday is the deadline for mailing in ballots for the Neighborhood Board elections.

Ballots must be postmarked no later than Monday, April 18, 2005, in order to be tallied in the elections for Oahu’s 32 Neighborhood Boards, said Baybee Hufana-Ablan, executive secretary of the Neighborhood Commission, which operates and oversees the boards.

            “Ballots were mailed on March 19 to voters in those areas where there are contested Neighborhood Board seats,” Hufana-Ablan continued.  “Ballots will be tabulated and the results will be announced on May 1.”

More than 215,000 ballots were mailed to voters last month. In all, 538 people were running for the 444 Neighborhood Board seats.

Hufana-Ablan said some people have already been elected for the two-year term that begins on June 1 and expires May 31, 2007.  Those are candidates who were unopposed in the current election. They are listed on the City Neighborhood Commission website, www.honolulu.gov/nco 

The Neighborhood Commission plans to install the newly elected board members in a ceremony at 10:30 a.m. May 14 in the Honolulu Hale Courtyard.   Hufana-Balan said, “The public is invited to attend the Neighborhood Boards’ celebration of 30 years of grassroots democracy.”

The nine-member Neighborhood Commission and the Neighborhood Board system were established as part of the voter-approved, 1972 City Charter revision.

The Neighborhood Boards serve as advisors and sounding boards for all levels of government. Members serve without pay.

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Contact:

        Baybee Hufana-Ablan, Neighborhood Commission executive secretary, 527-5749

        Michelle Kidani, special advisor, 527-5762

        Elwin Spray, elections coordinator, 527-5758