FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                              December 7, 2006

WANTED: CANDIDATES FOR NEIGHBORHOOD BOARDS

            Elections for all 444 seats on Oahu’s 32 neighborhood boards will be held next spring, and the City invites all interested persons to get involved.

            Candidate application forms are available at the city clerk’s office and the Neighborhood Commission Office at Honolulu Hale, the Neighborhood Commission Office at Kapolei Hale and all satellite city halls. The form can also be downloaded from the following website: http://www.honolulu.gov/nco/2007_candidate_application_form.pdf .

            Candidate applications must be postmarked or hand-delivered to the Neighborhood Commission Office at Honolulu Hale, 530 South King Street, by January 16, 2007.

            Neighborhood board elections are held in odd-numbered years. The two-year terms of office start in June. Members are elected from the respective neighborhoods. Candidates must be at least 18 years old on January 16, 2007, and live in the neighborhood and, if applicable, the subdistrict.

            The neighborhood board system was established in 1973 to increase and assure effective citizen participation in the decisions of government.  The boards meet monthly and serve as advisory sounding boards for all levels of government about issues of relevance to their communities. The boards have varying numbers of seats and are divided into subdistricts or a mixture of at-large and subdistrict seats.

            The neighborhood boards are governed by the nine-member Neighborhood Commission. The top administrator is the executive secretary, Joan Manke.

            “Board members have an excellent opportunity to become involved in the issues that affect

their neighbors and their neighborhoods,” said Manke.  “I strongly encourage citizen participation in a board system that provides citizens with a forum or venue to interact with government agencies.  This is an important process that assures that voters’ voices are heard.”

            For more information, see the Neighborhood Commission website, www.honolulu.gov/nco or call 527-5749.

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Contact:        

            Joan Manke, Neighborhood Commission Executive Secretary, 527-5749       

            Bryan K Mick, Neighborhood Commission Office, 523-4768