A Plan and Vision for the City and County of Honolulu

By Mufi Hannemann, Candidate for Honolulu Mayor

Honolulu has been great to me, and to my family. My immigrant parents raised me to help others and to contribute to a city that has given us so much. My pursuit to be Mayor is not out of convenience to hold an office, but one of commitment to serve the people.

It is imperative that the voters elect someone who can hit the ground running as the chief executive of the state's largest county, with no need for on-the-job training due to a lack of familiarity and work experience with city-related issues. I offer relevant and contemporary experience for Mayor of Honolulu in the 21st Century that money cannot buy.

As a result of the events of September 11, and given the state and city's on-going challenges with the economy, now more than ever Honolulu needs a Mayor who understands the importance of job growth and quality development. I bring a proven track record of accomplishment of creating and maintaining jobs in the public and private sectors in a state that I was born and raised in 49 years ago.

As a Democrat, I can operate very effectively in a bipartisan environment. For example, the makeup of the new City Council could include a number of Democrats and Republicans, necessitating the need for a Mayor who is comfortable and has a past history of operating successfully in that kind of environment. Moreover, having worked for Democratic and Republican presidential administrations in the past, I have excellent bipartisan relationships in Washington, D.C., that I will call upon to enhance Honolulu's prospects for federal assistance.

Being an effective leader also entails bringing people together from all walks of life. I am equally adept in talking story in Nanakuli or Kalihi as I am in Hawaii Kai or Kailua. As a former Council Chairman, I believe in a community-based process that involves reaching out to community groups, labor, business, and academia to solicit the best ideas and input to make our city better. My District 8 Council tenure was laden with community-based projects that manifest themselves today in Aiea, Pearl City, and Waipahu.

Finally, I have demonstrated that I can lead under fire and never hesitate to take a stand to protect and defend working people, especially when it comes to scrutinizing the use of their tax dollars. I have always been very passionate throughout my public service career in standing up for the rights of working men and women. I grew up in a working-class setting and had a father who was a proud member of his labor organization. Seeing how hard my Dad worked--sometimes at three jobs--while growing up in Kalihi, obviously influenced my philosophy in this regard.

My top three priorities as mayor of Honolulu fall within the same three areas that I outlined in my 2000 campaign, for the same challenges persist today:

Fiscal Accountability and Trust

We've often heard the phrase of "running government more like a business." My tenure in the private sector with C. Brewer and Company, which encompassed managing small business operations to overseeing corporate marketing, provided me with solid business experience. Fiscal responsibility will be our guiding principle on managing the city's budget. Throughout my Council tenure, I developed a reputation for watching the public's money, especially after I led the charge to oppose a garbage collection tax. I will carry this same approach with me to the Mayor's office.

For example, I will commission an independent audit of the city budget that will accurately and honestly convey to the public, the Council, and new administration the status of Honolulu's finances. The public would welcome this "Marion Higa" type of audit, as concern has been mounting of late that the city may be living beyond its means. Every household can identify with the danger of too much credit card borrowing or wasteful and unnecessary spending.

In a related initiative to bring about greater efficiency in government, I propose that we finally take action to eliminate the duplication of services provided by state and county governments. Numerous studies and speeches have been given through the decades addressing this subject, but very little effort has been expended to actually implement some common sense recommendations that may translate to cost-savings. To this end, I would request of Neighbor Island mayors that they join Oahu in a crusade whose time has come.

As Mayor, I will assemble not only the best and brightest individuals to assist me, but will also insist on the highest ethical standards of our City Hall team. Resumes will be verified, ethics guidelines will be followed, and professional standards of conduct will be emphasized. Trust and accountability will be part of our daily mantra at Honolulu Hale. We need to assure the public that safeguards will be put in place so that incidents such as Ewa Villages and other recent City fiascoes will not occur.

Back to Basics and Public Safety

Park maintenance, road resurfacing, traffic improvements, sewer line repairs, and waste disposal are but a few examples of the numerous complaints from the public that more needs to be done by the city to repair and maintain our basic infrastructure and protect our fragile and precious environment. For too long "nice-to-have" projects have been undertaken at the expense of "need-to-have" projects. I will embark on a major campaign emphasizing basic city services to rectify this predicament. By the same token, we cannot halt all new construction projects that are clearly warranted. To achieve a better balance between "repairing the old" and "building the new," I will instruct my administration to always ask and answer three questions of every project proposed: Do we need it? Can we afford it? And, most importantly, can we maintain it? Only if these questions can be answered satisfactorily should we proceed.

One of the most pressing new construction projects that requires our immediate attention is a new mode of public transit that will complement our existing bus system. Obviously, the status quo of our traffic situation is unacceptable. I am committed to working with the community, Council, and state and federal entities to implement a comprehensive transportation program for Oahu to bring about a missing piece of our quality of life.

A back-to-basics approach also requires that public safety is a major priority. There is no more important responsibility of city government than to ensure the security of its residents and visitors. In the past, I have resisted efforts to merge the Fire Department with other agencies and have always championed support for the basic equipment and personnel needs of our police, fire, lifeguards, and emergency medical services employees.

Revitalizing the Economy and Helping Education

My overarching objective as Mayor is to make Honolulu one of the most livable cities in the Pacific-Asian Basin. To achieve this goal, Honolulu needs a vibrant economy where good jobs exist for its citizens. I have made the economy a priority of city government responsibilities ever since becoming a Council member in January 1995. I authored and sponsored numerous initiatives at the county level for the city to be involved in revitalizing the economy.

My basic philosophy is that if Honolulu is where 80 percent of the people live and where 80 percent of the taxes are collected, then it behooves city government to change its philosophy regarding job creation. Simply stated, the thinking has been that the state fixes the economy and all the city needs to do is to follow the state's lead. In flush economic times, this formula is palatable; however, when Hawaii is in an economic downturn, often compounded by unforeseen circumstances or national and international upheavals, the results are disastrous for the 11th largest city in the United States.

In my last campaign for Mayor in 2000, I advocated that Honolulu take a page from other cities, such as New York under former Mayor Rudy Guiliani, which is to rebuild the economy through a partnership with the state and federal governments, private sector, labor, academia, and the community. In some instances Honolulu should lead, in other areas we should complement or follow.

We need to re-define the job description of Honolulu's mayor. Fixing the economy and improving education should be part of the mayor's agenda, along with fixing our roads and improving the parks. I want to change the culture at City Hall. My administration will strive to "do more with more" by growing the economic pie, not be satisfied with "doing more with less."

I am prepared, based on my extensive experience in dealing with the economy at every level of government, coupled with my global background and international alliances, to introduce and embark on an economic action plan for Honolulu. I will draw upon experiences derived from historical business and governmental missions that I led to the Philippines, Vietnam, Germany, France, China, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, and throughout the United States.

I am also prepared to draw upon the synergism that education has with the economy. I broached the subject in 2000 and some thought that I was out of line or too ahead of my time. In 2002, current circumstances shed a better light and clarity on my education ideas with the continued plight of public school education and efforts by the University of Hawaii to serve as a catalyst for economic diversification.

Numerous examples throughout the United States exist of cities such as Austin, Boston, and San Diego that have produced positive economic results by hitching their wagons to institutions of higher learning. There is no reason to believe that similar results couldn't occur here with the right Mayor at the helm of the city. It doesn't make sense to pursue economic diversification and opportunities for Oahu if at the end of the day our educational institutions are not producing a cadre of skilled and educated workers to assume these exciting new jobs. We must correct the brain-drain problem that has plagued Hawaii for too long.

What is needed at the city level is a leader who has the vision, commitment, and passion to see this important job through. I believe that we can make Honolulu the greatest city in America and the Pacific Asian Basin, and ask that you join me and others who desire a better quality of life for ourselves and our families.

First Published in Hawaiireporter.com on September 13, 2004