O‘ahu County Democratic Party Platform, 2008

Home

Resolutions

Affirmative Action

Party Links

Join the Party

Register to Vote

O‘ahu County Committee Convention
May 3, 2008- Dole Cannery Ballroom

O‘AHU COUNTY PLATFORM

[adopted May 3, 2008]

Preamble
Agriculture
Arts & Culture
Economics & Commerce
Education
Environment & Energy
Foreign Policy
Government & Political Reform
Healthcare
Human Rights and Civil Rights & Economic Justice
Housing
Immigration
Labor
Native Hawaiian People
Safety & Security
Technology
Transportation
U.S. Military

The O'ahu County Committee of the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i, as the party of the people, reaffirms our values of liberty and justice. Those core values compel us to incorporate these democratic ideals in all aspects of the economic, social, educational, and cultural life in our communities, O'ahu, and our nation.

Agriculture in our state must be preserved and its future strengthened. Sufficient agricultural lands must be maintained for the health, economic well-being and sustenance of the people. We believe in an integrated approach of agricultural innovation and sustainability. We encourage the development of ocean resources in order to achieve sustainability in our state.

Our community is enriched by the encouragement of diverse arts and cultural activities that communicate both a regional and universal vision. Through multi-cultural and multi-generational participation in the arts, we strengthen our ohana, promote tolerance, and add vitality to the economy through cultural tourism. To this end, we support adequate funding for the arts, individual artists, arts and cultural organizations, and educational enterprises.

ECONOMICS & COMMERCE

Large and small businesses are the key to our economic expansion and diversification. Their management should be honest and responsive to the community. We encourage economic diversification with innovation.

We believe that the future of the country depends upon an educated and knowledgeable citizenry. We support resources to provide quality education and library services to every student regardless of learning capacity in an environment conducive to the learning process. These resources should be made available at every level, from pre-school through higher education, including life-long learning, and should provide autonomy of the relevant educational institutions and competitive compensation for teachers, administrators, and professors.

ENVIRONMENT & ENERGY

The conservation, preservation and restoration of Hawai‘i's natural resources are connected to the health and welfare of our people; therefore, we support the conservation and protection of our natural environment, which includes reducing our carbon footprint. We believe in integrated approaches, practices, and support for public policies that create and maintain a sustainable way of life in Hawai‘i.

We support a strong foreign policy that promotes peace, human rights, international cooperation and the rule of law. We believe that the war in Iraq does not meet these standards.

GOVERNMENT & POLITICAL REFORM

We believe in a government that will adequately, efficiently, courteously, openly and fairly administer to the needs of the people. We support the integrity of Hawai‘i's voting process and ethics in government, with a fair, voter-verifiable, fully transparent and auditable voting system. We also support enforcement of sunshine laws and transparency in sessions and meetings that discuss and make policy.

Access to quality health care is a basic human right. We support the development of long-term care, better pay and working conditions for all health care providers, parity of mental and physical health coverage, and appropriate regulation of health care delivery systems. We also support the development of empirically validated prevention programs targeted at major public health issues.

HUMAN RIGHTS AND CIVIL RIGHTS & ECONOMIC JUSTICE

The inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all human beings are the foundations of freedom, justice, and peace. We are committed to ending institutionalized discrimination in all aspects. We support affirmative action, the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and the rights of senior citizens. We support full equality, benefits and responsibilities regardless of sexual identity, orientation, or expression. We believe in the equality of women and their right to privacy.

While we affirm the right of every citizen to own land, we also affirm the rights of citizens who do not. Affordable housing that is fair in proportion to individual income is the basis of prosperity for our citizens and stability in our economy. Recent and past real estate bubbles have fueled disproportionate rent increases-a key contributor to homelessness. Therefore, we support efforts to promote affordable housing for all citizens who rent. We need economically affordable housing and encourage increased support that leads to this end.

We believe that our nation should have a fair immirgartion policy that recognizes the diversity of our country and the contribution that immigrants make and have made the sciences, arets, and culture. We support an immigration policy that provides a reasonable path to citizenship for immigrants who follow the rule of law. We encourage polices that avoid the militarization of our borders or that would deny education and health and human services to immigrant children.

As the party of working men and women in Hawai'i, we work to protect labor rights and social security; to institute fair labor practices, fair pay and fair taxation; to protect employees' rights to organize and bargain collectively with their employers; to oppose the outsourcing of Hawai'i's jobs; to promote employment opportunities and sustainable growth; to assist the economically disadvantaged and advocate for sound trade and economic policies.

NATIVE HAWAIIAN PEOPLE

The Native Hawaiian people are the indigenous people of the state of Hawai‘i and deserve a just relationship with the state and federal governments. We support enactment into law of the Akaka bill, which will begin the process for Native Hawaiian self-determination, consistent with federal policy for native self-determination extended to other indigenous peoples of the United States.

SAFETY & SECURITY

We support safety and security in all dimensions as a basic right of all residents of the state of Hawai‘i. We support just law enforcement and enhancement of crime prevention, without compromising civil liberties.

We recognize that the responsible use and development of technology in all its manifestations offers unlimited potential for our community. We encourage research, development, and educational programs to promote technological proficiency and innovation.

We support county, state, and federal efforts to provide more efficient and punctual methods of public transportation. We endorse efforts to promote less reliance on the automobile by employing private and public use of alternative modes of travel. We encourage efforts to provide better vehicle and pedestrian safety.

The Armed Forces in Hawai‘i and their families sacrifice to serve and defend our country, help us in time of need. We encourage the continuation of efforts to coordinate military activities with affected communities. Hawai‘i should honor their service by strongly supporting the best possible care of wounded and disabled veterans. We oppose war profiteering and the privatization of combat through employment of paramilitary contractors. We support the protection of our ‘aina against destruction by military usage.

2010 Platform

2006 Platform

2004 Platform

2002 Platform