A Core Issue for Hawai‘i Island
By Aaron Zeeman
Do you like apples? Well, check this out…
As Hawai‘i Island moves through the process of selecting a new Police Chief, it is an appropriate moment to revisit a principle embedded in our state Constitution but often overlooked in practice: Home Rule. While the term may sound technical, the concept is simple. Home Rule allows counties to establish their own priorities in matters that directly affect local communities — particularly in determining how public safety resources are allocated.
This idea reflects Hawai‘i’s older traditions. Long before statehood, each island maintained its own identity, leadership, and approach to governance. Modern Hawai‘i recognizes this history in the form of county charters and constitutional provisions that grant counties meaningful authority to shape local policy. On Hawai‘i Island, where community needs differ significantly from those on O‘ahu, this authority matters.
A clear example of Home Rule in action occurred in 2008, when voters considered County Question 1 — known locally as the Peaceful Sky initiative. After extensive community organizing and signature gathering, the measure passed by a solid margin: 34,957 votes in favor and 25,464 against. That result was not narrow or ambiguous. It reflected a clear preference among Hawai‘i Island residents for prioritizing county law-enforcement resources toward issues of greater public safety concern, while deemphasizing personal-use cannabis cases.
Although the initiative later encountered legal obstacles, its passage demonstrated something essential: the residents of Hawai‘i Island are fully capable of expressing their collective will, and their priorities deserve meaningful consideration. Public sentiment has not weakened since 2008. In many ways, it has strengthened.
This context is especially important today, as our island selects a new Police Chief. The person who steps into that role will help shape the relationship between law enforcement and the community for years to come. It is reasonable — and responsible — for the public to ask where each candidate stands on the issue of enforcement priorities, and how they view the role of community voices in guiding those priorities.
At the same time, community organizers are exploring the possibility of introducing an updated, legally refined initiative — a modern Peaceful Sky 2.0 — focused solely on the county’s established authority to set enforcement priorities. While still in development, a draft version of such a ballot question may resemble the following:
“Shall the Hawai‘i County Police Department make personal-use cannabis enforcement the lowest law-enforcement priority and allocate county resources instead toward violent crime, property crime, and threats to community safety?”
This language avoids past ambiguities and adheres strictly to the county’s jurisdiction over operational priorities. It also reflects a practical reality: with finite resources, police departments must decide where to focus their efforts. Ensuring that those efforts align with community values is both responsible and consistent with the intent of Home Rule.
As the State of Hawai‘i continues to consider broader cannabis reforms, counties will play an essential role in shaping how those laws are implemented locally. Home Rule provides a framework through which community voices can help ensure that future regulatory approaches respect local culture, local perspectives, and local needs.
Hawai‘i Island has always been a place where people come together to guide the direction of their community. The 2008 vote proved that the public is both capable of and willing to participate directly in important questions of policy. That willingness has not gone away. It remains part of the fabric of this island.
As we look ahead — toward a new Police Chief, potential policy changes, and continued discussions about community priorities — we have an opportunity to reaffirm what makes this island unique: the ability to work together as one ‘ohana to guide our own path.
So… how do you like them apples?
