1. League of Women Voters of Hawaii
49 South Hotel Street, Room 314 | Honolulu, HI 96813
www.lwv-hawaii.com | 808.531.7448 | voters@lwv-
Senator Shan S.Tsutsui, President
State of Hawaii Senate
Hawaii State Capitol, Room 409
Honolulu, Hawaii
Dear Senator Tsutsui:
The mission of the League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, is to encourage
informed and active participation in government, increase understanding of major public policy issues, and
influence public policy through education and advocacy.
I am Vice-President of the League of Women Voters of Hawaii, representing our members throughout
Hawaii. In this capacity I attended the Friday, March 23, 2012 hearing of the Senate Commerce and
Consumer Protection Committee at 9:00 am in Conference Room 229 of the State Capitol. I attended the
entire hearing, submitted written testimony on three of Governor Neil Abercrombie’s nominees and was
permitted by Senator Rosalyn Baker to testify on one nominee.
I am sorry to report that this meeting was not chaired in an open and acceptable way. At the beginning of
the hearing Senator Baker described how the hearing would be conducted, stating she would take each of
the Governor’s messages in turn, run down the list of individuals who had submitted testimony, and also
hear others who wished to submit testimony orally.
Unfortunately, the meeting was not conducted in this way. Senator Baker did not call each person to
testify who had submitted written testimony for each nominee. For example, the League of Women Voters
had submitted written testimony on three nominees, and was called to testify on only one nominee. And for
each nominee she did not ask if there were other members of the public who had not submitted written
comments but wished to testify orally. When one member of AARP who did not identify herself indicated
she wished to testify orally on nominee Joan Daneieley, Senator Baker refused.
All participants in such a hearing deserve the same courtesy from Senator Baker that she sought from the
public. For example, any reasonable person would expect the Chair to have high respect and esteem for
Ms. Gail Breakey, a representative of Progressive Democrats of Hawaii, yet Senator Baker spoke very
rudely to Ms. Breakey. The public does not want people to be subjected to hostile, demeaning or
humiliating words during the conduct of a legislative hearing, yet when Ms. Breakey called Mr. Rafael De
Castillo to testify, she urged him to limit his remarks if this was possible, since he was a lawyer.
There was not adequate opportunity for public input in this hearing. The entire hearing took less than 2
hours, so the League believes more testimony could have been taken without jeopardizing efficiency and
economy.
As Lincoln reminded the nation in his Gettysburg Address, ours is a government “of the people, by
the people, for the people.” The League of Women Voters of Hawaii hopes Senator Baker, too, will
continue to promote public confidence in the integrity of Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection
hearings. Thank you for considering our complaint.

2. League of Women Voters of Hawaii
49 South Hotel Street, Room 314 | Honolulu, HI 96813
www.lwv-hawaii.com | 808.531.7448 | voters@lwv-