Elected leaders are best remembered by good works they leave behind.

Gov. John A. Burns achieved statehood for Hawaii and built its foundation.

Mayor Frank F. Fasi created a thriving public bus system for Honolulu out of virtually nothing after the private operator faltered.

Women’s basketball megastars like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese can thank U.S. Rep. Patsy T. Mink’s landmark Title IX legislation requiring equal opportunity for women in scholastic sports.

Then we have Honolulu City Council Chair Tommy Waters.

With grave needs to make his mark such as a crushing cost of living forcing locals to move away, rampant homelessness and gridlocked traffic, Waters chose to spend his best political capital on a signature achievement of massive pay raises for himself and his members.

The city Salary Commission, the majority of which is appointed or confirmed by the Council, last year recommended 64% raises for Council members, which Waters lobbied for and allowed to become law without hearings or a vote despite furious objections by the public and some Council members.

The Salary Commission this year is proposing 3% more. If it’s enacted, since 2023 the chair’s pay will have risen from $76,968 to $126,712, while other members’ compensation will have jumped to $116,712 from $68,904.

Exceptions were members Augie Tulba, Andria Tupola and Radiant Cordero, who refused the 64% bump. Esther Kia‘aina, Calvin Say, Val Okimoto, Matt Weyer and Tyler Dos Santos-Tam joined Waters in filling their pockets.

These big salaries are for a job traditionally considered part time; Waters has reneged so far on a promise of legislation to bar Council members from rich outside employment they are now allowed.

In a feeble attempt at damage control, Waters says he’ll personally turn down this year’s 3% raise if it’s finalized. Depending on what the others do, we could theoretically end up with a nine-member Council with five different pay rates.

Waters is borrowing a tactic from former state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, who helped engineer 33% raises for legislators in the middle of the Great Recession, when other state employees faced pay cuts and furloughs.

Amid public outrage, lawmakers grudgingly gave 5% back, leaving themselves 28% to the good. Hanabusa later ran an ad in her campaign for Congress boasting she cut legislative pay.

Waters is a hero to fellow politicians for taking the political hit and forcing through raises for his mates despite public furor. Eventually the precedent set by the outsized city increases will likely boost pay for all elected officials.

Waters doesn’t seem to mind it came at the expense of blowing what little credibility he and the Council had left.

If anybody else out there has ever gotten a 64% raise without a promotion involved, I’d love to hear about it.

Tupola is proposing a City Charter amendment that would cap future annual pay raises for top city officials at 5%, and require a Council vote to approve them in a process that includes public hearings.

It’s a classic case of closing the barn door after the horse escaped, but nevertheless a worthy idea that deserves more support than Waters and his enriched minions will likely give it.

Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com.