Carlisle to run for mayor again
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARADVERTISER.COM
Former Mayor Peter Carlisle made a point during a news conference Friday to announce his candidacy for his old seat at Honolulu Hale.
Citing what he sees as a void in leadership in city government and a need to see the rail project to completion, former Mayor Peter Carlisle announced Friday that he will again seek the top job at Honolulu Hale.
Carlisle, 63, will be challenging current Mayor Kirk Caldwell, who unseated Carlisle in 2012.
Who will join them remains a question. City Council Chairman Ernie Martin is acting like a candidate but said he will make a decision by the end of the month. Meanwhile, former U.S. Rep. Charles Djou said he is troubled by the escalating cost of the rail project and has not ruled out a run.
Carlisle, at a news conference, questioned Caldwell’s leadership skills.
“The incumbent has not made tough decisions, instead relying on popular sentiment to guide policies,” he said. “A leader doesn’t put his finger up to the wind and figure out which way the wind is blowing and then make a decision.”
Carlisle said seeing the rail project get off the ground was “the biggest event that occurred while I was mayor” from 2010 to 2012, and he reaffirmed his support for the city’s $6.9 billion rail project.
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“Rail, while it has had many problems in terms of cost, there is no doubt that rail is the future for Honolulu, Hawaii,” he said. “It will be finished, it must be finished.”
Besides being a traffic solution, rail will offer housing and other development opportunities to Oahu neighborhoods and help ease homelessness by providing people a less expensive transportation mode, he said.
He criticized the City Council for trying to exert more influence on the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation’s management of the project. Carlisle said he would reject any push to eliminate HART.
“I can’t think of anything worse than having a bunch of politicians in charge of what is now a $6.9 billion project. I think you ought to have experts. (HART CEO) Dan Grabauskas is an expert.”
The idea to stop the rail line at Middle Street is “ridiculous,” he said.
Carlisle first became mayor in 2010 after Mufi Hannemann resigned midterm in order to run for governor.
Two years later he finished third in the August 2012 special election to former Gov. Ben Cayetano and Caldwell, eliminating him from contention. In the second special election in November 2012, Caldwell defeated Cayetano.
Asked why he finished third in 2012, Carlisle said, “There was a lot of information going out there that wasn’t accurate.”
This time, he said, he will seek only one four-year term and, if elected, not run for re-election. It’s a promise he made to his wife, he said. “I do not want to have to wave signs anymore. … I don’t want to … raise funds.”
Before becoming mayor, Carlisle was city prosecutor from 1997 to 2010.
After Carlisle’s announcement Friday, Martin said he wished the former mayor good luck but had nothing to add on the subject of his own political plans.
But told of Carlisle’s comments criticizing the Council, Martin said in a text message, “Good luck in fostering an effective working relationship with the Honolulu City Council — he will need it!”
Lex Smith, Caldwell’s campaign chairman, said it will be up to voters to decide whether the incumbent has been a good mayor. “The current mayor feels he has shown leadership … by tackling the problems that have come to this city head-on and not shying away from them.”
Caldwell, Carlisle and Martin all support the rail project.
Rail critic Djou, the former congressman and onetime Council member, said in an email response to questions that he has not ruled out a run for mayor.
“I’m very concerned about the current mismanagement of the rail project,” Djou said, noting that the cost was forecast at $3.5 billion when he voted to reject it. “We need a mayor who has the courage to veto further tax increases and demand that project costs be controlled.”
Djou said he hopes other candidates do what is needed to bring the project under control. “I welcome hearing Carlisle’s detailed plans on controlling rail spending before making any decision on running,” he said.
Cayetano and University of Hawaii professor Panos Prevedouros, two other rail critics, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Friday they will not run this year. Former Lt. Gov. James “Duke” Aiona said he’s inclined not to run but hasn’t made a decision.
The deadline to file is June 7.
The first special election for the nonpartisan mayor’s race is held in conjunction with the Aug. 13 primary election. If the first-place finisher gets more than 50 percent of the votes cast, he or she is declared the winner. Otherwise, the two top finishers go head to head in the second special election on Nov. 2, general election day.
Caldwell filed nomination papers last week. Five others had done so as of 4:30 p.m. Friday: Kurtleigh Baker, Lawrence Friedman, Timothy Garry, Angela Kaaihue and Joseph Wargo.
39 responses to “Carlisle to run for mayor again”
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Carlisle is another in a long line of fools if he thinks rail is going to have any impact on traffic. It will not. The only thing that will solve the traffic problem is to upgrade the highway and road infrastructure. There is plenty of room for improvement in Honolulu’s traffic infrastructure, but the long line of fools running this City fail to see that.
Carlisle has to explain his stance on the $26.7 Billion Dollar TITANIC RAIL SCAM!!!
That’s what we need – another pro-rail mayor that’s out of touch with the common folk. I don’t understand why they think that we want the rail in the first place. Don’t they read this paper on line?
Donald Duck would get more votes than Carlisle if on the ballot.
No kidding. And that’s a guy who doesn’t wear pants in public.
Carliar is an immature leader. He had his chance, and he played the fool. What the dimwit fails to account for is the cost of rail. His foolishness would have the city spend endlessly into a bottomless pit until there is no money left. He is delusional if he thinks the public buys his wise a-z-z ways again. Pete: we don’t want you to hold signs or raise money either.
Carlisle and handsome Martin should save their time and money.
I’m not going to vote for him because of his rail stand, but I do appreciate that he’s up front about it.
There will be those who will be blowing smoke up our buts, saying they are against it, until they get into office then they’ll change their tune.
They are the usual suspects, you’ll know who they are when you see them start to come out from under their rocks.
I imagine that they start changing their tunes when they see the kind of kick back they can get if they promote this disaster.
Which is why we don’t need a politician in there. We need a regular person who was born here and remembers what this state used to be like.
And seriously, how much worse can that inexperienced person skrew things up that our so called “educated betters” have already done?
Carlisle has to publicly state his support for rail in order to get serious campaign funds from rail special interest like local union contractors who are set to build the rail station, Hitachi that took over Ansaldo, the consultants and other contractors that are all at the Oahu rail feeding trough. Kirk and Peter will have given serious campaign funds and expect PRP or some offshoot to be their attack dogs against any candidate who says they are not full rail supporters
Was thinking about this and I figure he would be better than these others because he has had a chance to look at the City from a different perspective since he’s been gone.
“I can’t think of anything worse than having a bunch of politicians in charge of what is now a $6.9 billion project…”
Well I can and that would be to have a green bottle toting mayor in office who hit on married Asian women over at Restaurant Row. This guy’s public behavior sets a very poor example for our keiki.
Panos for Mayor !!! He’s against rail
Wiliki for preschool! He’s for concrete.
“I think you ought to have experts. (HART CEO) Dan Grabauskas is an expert.” Isn’t he the same guy that was fired over the “Big Dig” on the mainland? Sounds like a Hawaii type of expert.
Way better than current weak mayor but really should
Stop the monster at middle street
Clearly Carlisle is unfit to serve as mayor. Reading his comments it is obvious he hasn’t got a clue about the “Big Picture” with what is going on in the Nei.
He falsely thinks money pit rail is the answer to the Nei’s problems, will solve the homeless problem, eliminate all traffic, be the driver for a massive increase in building and jobs, even cure ED. Really Peter? Where did you get the koolaid you are drinking?
Sad to say Peter is just another in a long line of utterly clueless government bureaucrats. We need fresh blood, new thinking, a person with high ethical and moral values. Clearly neither Carlisle nor Caldwell meet the standards.
Just a more macho version of Crookwell.
I would like to see Councilman Berg run–he’s like Trump–he’ll stir the pot.
Who’s next- Mufi?
This election is going to be a circus.
Do you mean Carlier the CLOWN?
wiliki – The election is only a one ring circus compared to the three ring circus of rail. Clowns everywhere.
Actually a politician IS supposed to “stick his finger up and see which way the wind blows” because he is supposed to represent the people and their sentiments.
When was the last time any politician listened to the people though?
Maybe that is what a POLITICIAN is supposed to do, but certainly not what an elected official is supposed to do. Someone in elected office is there because, supposedly, he/she should know what is best for ALL people and not just for the very vocal ones, or even the majority. If simply doing what most people want was the rule, then we would still have slavery and no racial equality. Sometimes what is best for the whole is an unpopular thing to do – like raising taxes or getting rid of certain programs. It is precisely because officials are “bought” by special interests that they make stupid decisions.
Yes, more the merrier!
I wonder if I can call these competitors I’m competing against “DAD”?
Oh and remember it’s so shameful to run in politics. I’m an embarassment to the Hawaiian name and race. It’s so shame shame, for using my last name. Oh, and my Grammar is so bad, that I need to go back to grammar school (grade school). Oh and I have so many skeletons in the closet waiting to come out!! #Kaaihue4Mayor
Carlisle has been to the list of the unelectables…….
Why is he running again? He was a mayor before and he was a failure then…nothing will change….He never made a decision….always deferred to his admin guys….and they played politics….Give me Duke (and I’m not even a GOP’er)..
Whoever is going to try & stop the rail has my vote.
The decisions being made by this current crop of leaders including those busted or fined for wrongdoing will haunt Hawaii 20 – 30 years from now. People then will ask, “What happened?” and we can sadly explain how it all began in 2012 – 2016.
Nope, years from now, people will ask, why has rail been delayed for 30 years.
I’d be more impressed if he had filed before finding out if he got his pakalolo license. Now it just looks like he wants something to do.
As soon as I read that “rail will and must be built, Ai sopped reading. Not getting my vote.
Anyone who has the guts to run as anti rail will have to have a strong mind. The pro trailers and PRP will do worse than they did to Cayetano. It’s their strong arm, no holds barred attacks that are holding the majority hostage.
Fire Ernie. He’s delaying rail.