Mayoral candidates clash over rail, housing
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARADVERTISER.COM
AARP Hawaii held a call-in mayoral candidate forum Saturday featuring Mayor Kirk Caldwell, right, and former U.S. Rep. Charles Djou. The candidates fielded calls from Oahu residents.
Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell and mayoral contender former U.S. Rep. Charles Djou went over familiar ground and offered few new talking points Saturday morning during a “tele-town hall” phone-in forum sponsored by AARP Hawaii.
Djou portrayed himself as the agent of change that’s necessary to replace Caldwell. He argued that the current administration has failed on its policies on everything from rail to affordable housing.
The challenger began with a rhetorical question.
“I want you to ask yourselves … after you hear about the challenges going on (in) the City and County of Honolulu, do you believe the city is better off than it was four years ago? And that should help you determine how you should vote,” Djou said.
Caldwell painted Djou, also a former City Council member and state House member, as a candidate good at pointing out problems but lacking in solutions. He contended that he’s done his best to tackle the issues and that his policies are on their way to success.
“Being a mayor is not about talking about problems and blaming people,” Caldwell said. “You can do that at the legislative level but you can’t do it at the executive level.”
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Asked how he intended to fix the woes plaguing the city’s 20-mile rail construction project, Djou cited its ever-growing price tag and described it as “a total and complete mess.” The only way to rein in the costs is to replace the current administration “that has gotten every single thing about this rail project wrong,” he said. “We have to start re-establishing credibility and the way we do that is to completely change the entire coaching staff of rail.”
Caldwell criticized Djou for failing to provide specific policy ideas that would deal with the project’s funding issues. “We need to raise additional money to finish the last 4.3 miles and eight stations,” he said. “How we solve the problem is looking for additional funding sources and I’ve been doing that as mayor.” He’s asked and will continue to ask for additional federal funding, has worked to try to get help from the private sector, and has supported going back to the Legislature for an extension of the 0.5 percent surcharge on the general excise tax that goes to rail, Caldwell said.
Both men said flatly they do not intend to ask for an increase in real property tax rates to pay for rail construction.
Asked how they would battle the skyrocketing cost of housing prices, Caldwell touted the passage of his accessory dwelling unit policy that allows people to build second homes on their properties as rentals with some incentives. About 70 properties have been approved for ADUs in recent months with another 200 or so being processed, he said.
Djou said Caldwell has misused the city’s affordable housing fund.
“We have tens of millions of dollars sitting in the affordable housing fund that simply hasn’t been spent,” Djou said, adding that a recent federal audit questioned about $16 million in expenditures. “We’ll fix that; we’re going to make sure that the money we had is spent, it is spent right, and we get more affordable housing into our community.”
On pedestrian safety, Caldwell said he has eliminated a number of midblock crosswalks and is changing out the lighting on all city streetlights to increase visibility for motorists and pedestrians to see.
Djou said that while on the City Council, he supported pedestrian safety initiatives such as at-grade lighting. He questioned the wisdom of the King Street bike lane project, which he called “enormously dangerous for seniors and pedestrians.”
57 responses to “Mayoral candidates clash over rail, housing”
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Is Honolulu a better place after four years of Mayor Caldwell ?
I don’t think so !
We need a change.
STOP ORGANIZED CRIME !!!
VOTE OUT ALL INCUMBENTS !!!
TRUMP/PENCE 2016 !!!
Honolulu government is a massive train wreck. Vote for change.
Baloney… things are improving… rail is on track. We are going in the right direction.
“things are improving”? Really wili. Rail, Homeless, $700,000 home price tags, schools, roads… improving? This isn’t FANTASY Island wili. You and Boots MUST be the same person, or must be related. True PUPPETS for the Democrats. As for Caldwell, “How we solve the problem is we look for additional funding”….straight out of the Democratic Playbook. When they see a problem, throw money at it. Even if its money we DON’T have. What a joke.
wiliki the liar. Rail is 6 years behind schedule, and billions over budget.
Our roads are shameful. I was driving in downtown yesterday and the roads are just one pothole repair after another. Homeless all over the place.
To gsc: The real woes come from overpopulation, so as long as that continues Honolulu cannot become a better place. The change we need is mandatory birth control and in-migration stop.
I think it is. Finally putting in bike paths that gives bikers some degree of safety. You know Charles would just say No to any thing new. Granted the Rail is a mess but Charles hasn’t said how he would fix it or would have prevented it from happening in the first place. I see no reason to switch horses mid stream.
Re-elect Caldwell? “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.” Albert Einstein
Boots must be married to wiliki.
The King Street bike land will kill bikers, it is the dumbest, most dangerous thing I have ever seen. It is Caldwell’s legacy (besides the rail-fail).
I thought the King St. bike lane was a pilot project. I think it was up for review this past June-July-ish. Just another example of Mayor Caldwell’s ineptness. Agreed with Alohaguy, that King St. bike lane is dangerous for pedestrians, cars, and bicyclists. Long long list of mismanagement under Mayor Caldwell’s watch, Honolulu Zoo losing accreditation, Haunauma Bay lawsuit, Sewer pumps shut off during a rainstorm, don’t even know who’s running Dept. of Transportation Services right now, and the Rail….
Mayor Caldwell’s legacy seems to be intact.
No, the bike lane is automatically no longer a pilot project, since they have plans to put them all over the City. These bike lanes consume road capacity and slow down traffic. Rail was never designed to be the EXCLUSIVE mode of transportation on Oahu. THIS IS A DISASTER.
Maybe “bikers” are saver but everybody selse — pedestrians and car occupants having to enter and exit in the middle of the street.
If we’re going to build bike paths, bike owners should pony up for insurance and for road maintenance/
Sneaky Eyes Cadwell and his puppet master the Moofi are responsible for the horror and disaster that is and will continue to be rail. You think Cadwell ain’t bought and paid for? As a legislator, he was paid between 25-50 grand by Territorial. He becomes mayor, and his pay rises to 200 to 250 grand. He takes in a million from rail contractors and then he feeds us a trough of BS about rail, which is draining Oahu dry and doing nothing to relieve traffic. But watch, the lolos who vote in Hawaii are going to re-elect Top Lolo. You folks deserve him. Rail. You wanted it. You got it. Suckas.
Our economy is better after four years Caldwell, city streets are better, and homelessness has improved.
What true PUPPET with Kirk yanking ur strings
Homeless situation improved? You must be delusional or something. Governor Ige extending the homeless proclamation just proves there are more homeless on the streets then there was 4 years ago. As for city streets, try asking those who been waiting years for their streets to be paved when it’ll be paved again.
wiliki: Our economy is better after four years Caldwell
It has nothing to do with clodwell.
wiliki: city streets are better
Total BS. Drive around Kakaako and downtown and you’ll see what I see.
wiliki: homelessness has improved
I guess you don’t live here. The homeless are flooding downtown.
wiliki – Posting the usual shibai.
Rail is 300% over budget with no end in sight. Years behind schedule with no firm completion date.
Kirky Boy is utterly incapable of managing the city. Suffering the advanced effects of aging, losing mental competance. Needs to retire.
STOP ORGANIZED CRIME !!!
VOTE OUT ALL INCUMBENTS !!!
TRUMP/PENCE 2016 !!!
Sadly we have only one party in this state. What needs to be done is for the republican party to adopt republican values or go the way of the Whigs.
Crumbling roads and bridges, massive sewage spills, regular water main breaks, growing homelessness,are topped by a feckless train project; what values could the Democratic party adopt?
Roads and bridges are well maintained by the city.
We should remember that the storm damage could be much worse if sewege lines were not used by storm blockage in storm drains.
And we are making godd progress in replacing water mains. Main breaks usually repared in couple days.
Under city, state, and non-profit cooperation much progress in homelessness.
Construction and rail costs are still under control. Financing under Caldwell’s leadership next year will come under control with help from the feds, the state, private developers, and an improving Hawaiian economy which continues to get better.
Wili, STUPID as stupid can get.
wiliki say: “Construction and rail costs are still under control. Financing under Caldwell’s leadership next year will come under control with help from the feds, state, and private developers”
Please, Please, PLEASE stop lying.
You been commenting on all the news about this project going billions over budget, shoddy construction, substandard materials, so it’s not ignorance on your part, you’re flat out lying.
And the Feds have already said “NO!” And the FTA isn’t very happy with HART’s and Caldwell”s poor management. The developers already paid in the form of donations to Mr Caldwell and PRP’s despicable smear campaign and the state? They are still skimming 10% of every dollar collected. That’s like bailing seawater IN TO the titanic.
So please stop lying. If you can’t support this rail mess without resorting to lying, then you can’t support this rail project.
Just remember it was not Caldwell who decided to switch the water supply to save money. That was a republican Governor in Michigan who decided to save a few bucks in Flynt Michigan. Sure didn’t work out that way. Democrats may be far from perfect but at least they are not totally incompetent like Republicans are. I mean just look at their candidate for president. What a Conman.
Boots, you’re going to pull a muscle trying that hard to change the subject. Michigan water, Donald Trump… you’ll do anything to avoid acknowledging the mess Kirk Caldwell has made of this rail and lying liars like wiliki who don’t care about the public as long as his guy is in office.
Without a stop to population growth live quality in Honolulu will only go downhill. Housing and rail problems is coming from that only!
Population growth will never stop here which is the best place on earth. The problem is that more average locals are getting squeezed out as more and more rich outsiders come in and drive the cost of housing out of reach. Rail will help the quality of life with easier commutes for average locals who have live in the far out more affordable areas.
ukuleleblue says: “Rail will help the quality of life with easier commutes for average locals who have live in the far out more affordable areas.”
1) You have been asked repeatedly not to call people “average locals.” It’s insulting and demeaning and it says a lot about you that you keep doing it.
2) The train doesn’t go to the communities it was promised to serve. It ignores Waianae, Ewa, Kapolei, and UH and runs from a plugged in developer’s new suburban sprawl to the luxury tourist mall instead. Since you been corrected repeatedly on this, I can only assume that you are lying on purpose.
3) The fact that you are so dismissive, out-of-touch, and comfortable lying about this mess of a rail project means it’s time you finally were honest about where you live on the mainland and what your connection is to this mess of a rail project.
Don’t feel bad. I know you’re just upset because you have to pay for something that does not benefit the windward side. lol
irt HAJAA1: I believe taxes earmarked for this farce affects everyone purchasing goods all over Oahu. Should anyone affected by these taxes has a right to be upset? Absolutely! Anyone not concerned with the direction this project is headed I feel is part of the problem.
I’m upset because this train doesn’t serve the people it was promised to, lacks oversight, and is plagued with shoddy construction and substandard parts the endanger our friends and neighbors.
My question is why do you seem to think it’s all fine. Who do you think should be paying for these mistakes?
uku: since you are such an advocate of rail, how do you propose to sort out this unending mess?
We can only adjust to population growth in a sustainable way.
Let’s try keep going in the right direction and not lose focus.
Without rail we will have urban sprawl.
This will affect our economy and the future of our children and grandchildren.
We’re going in the WRONG direction wili, get it right.
“”This will affect our economy and the future of our children and grandchildren.””
Only your loser children and grandchildren.
Well, how are you going to stop population growth? Are you related to Mao? 🙂
I might vote Djou just on the King Street bike lane comments…bicyclists don’t use the lane, it causes drivers to second guess their driving decisions, and is just dangerous all around. The person who came up with this plan is insane.
That darn Caldwell is trying to get a favorable view from people he fools: He is busily paving all these small little traveled sideroads that have no potholes because it is cheaper and easier while leaving the longer catastrophic condition heavy traveled roads alone!
“Caldwell criticized Djou for failing to provide specific policy ideas that would deal with the project’s funding issues. “We need to raise additional money to finish the last 4.3 miles and eight stations,” he said. He’s asked and will continue to ask for additional federal funding, has worked to try to get help from the private sector, and has supported going back to the Legislature for an extension of the 0.5 percent surcharge on the general excise tax that goes to rail, Caldwell said.”
So Mr Caldwell’s “specific policies ideas” are to ask the Feds for more money for this mess. He did already and the answer was “Nope!” and he asked the developers to pay some of their own way and they said “we already paid you once in the form of campaign donations and an expensive PRP smear campaign. We aren’t paying you again.”
So that leaves the “specific policies ideas” of increasing the highly regressive excise tax on struggling local families’ food, water, clothing, rent, and medicine IF he promises to continue 10% skim to the state legislature in order to pay billions more for shoddy construction and cheap, substandard parts and skyrocketing costs with no end in sight.
Promising to break promises he made about delivering rail “on time and on budget” “building it better” and promising his last tax increase would be enough to finish the project is really not much of a “specific policy” and more of a test of how strong the stranglehold construction interests and developers have on Oahu. Kirk Caldwell had his chance and chose donors and insiders over the public. Next!
Djou is good at recognizing issues but has absolutely no track record of getting things done. I would want to know who he will appoint as Managing Director, the man or woman who will likely execute his plans, before I would ever consider voting for him. Who, Djou?
Who is Kirk Caldwell’s managing director? Do you think they should be fired?
And Caldwell is doing a good job???? I don’t think so!!! We need a change!!!!!!
Caldwell telling stories as usual. Only TWO accessory dwelling units have been built in the last year. How does that help the hundreds or even thousands of homeless that are now in town, Kaimuki, Hawaii Kai, Kailua, etc? Caldwell is the very one who told the legislature that he would have to raise the property tax 20-30% if he couldn’t get all his GET tax extensions. The State legislature already told him not to come backing begging for more GET. Bottom line: the Caldwell “legacy” is a bike lane on King Street that is going to get people killed and has made traffic even worse, and a rail line that speaks for itself. The only winner the last four years has been Caldwell with his million-dollar bank job (that’s not a job) payday.
“has supported going back to the Legislature for an extension of the 0.5 percent surcharge on the general excise tax that goes to rail”
That alone tells me that I’ve had enough of Caldwell.
Throughout Djou’s entire political life, he made a career in politics by finding fault with government and blaming his opponents. He forgets that he spent many years in the system he so readily criticizes but never admits to his own deficiencies. An empty suit I dare say.
And he “helps” us by cutting taxes for the rich.
Why not cut taxes for the rich? A rich guy pays more taxes than YOU do.
The Democratic Playbook; Lie, then call your opponents liars. Eff things up, then blame your opponents. Got it pit?
The Krook & the Kook
Caldwell won the debate
Have you ever been right about anything?
wiliki is a known and proven liar.
The infacstructure is falling apart—-the City’s purchasing administration is purchasing the cheapest services and products who’s pricing might look good but not the longevity of the products and / or services they purchase–totally waste of our tax dollars. She and her system should be replaced along with the Mayor who condones her process.You pay for what you get.