The City and County of Honolulu’s 15th mayor formally started his second term Thursday.
But following a swearing- in ceremony presided over by former state Supreme Court Associate Justice Steven Levinson in the morning, Mayor Rick Blangiardi’s next four-year term in office began on a rather somber note.
Blangiardi’s remarks inside Mission Memorial Auditorium in the evening noted a large New Year’s Eve party that turned deadly after a “cake bomb” filled with illegal aerial fireworks exploded inside a carport at an Aliamanu home at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.
“Within the last 48 hours we’ve suffered a needless and senseless tragedy resulting in the deaths of three people and injuries to dozens more,” Blangiardi said.
The 78-year-old mayor’s inaugural address also highlighted that his administration will continue to tackle the island’s triple crises of the lack of affordable housing, homelessness and public safety. He said his team would continue to focus on problem-solving, too.
“Simply put, this second term will be about execution,” Blangiardi added.
The ceremony included attendance by Gov. Josh Green, Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, former Gov. Linda Lingle, city Managing Director Mike Formby, the Honolulu City Council as well as neighbor island officials including Kauai County Mayor Derek Kawakami.
The inaugural program also featured an opening oli and mele by Halau Hiiakainamakalehua and a traditional Hawaiian blessing by Kahu Kordell Kekoa dedicated toward the joy of leadership.
Musical performances included singer Henry Kapono, while the Royal Hawaiian Band Glee Club rendered “The Star-Spangled Banner” followed by “Hawaii Pono‘i,” the state anthem.
Hokule‘a Master Navigator Nainoa Thompson gave the keynote address on the need for leadership in a city and state facing great changes and challenges, including the fact that more Native Hawaiian people now live outside the Hawaiian Islands than ever before.
New Council installed
Earlier in the day, the City Council returned for 2025 with one new member.
Inside Honolulu Hale’s packed Council Chambers, state Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark E. Recktenwald administered the oath of office to returning Council members Radiant Cordero, Esther Kia‘aina, Augie Tulba and Andria Tupola as well as newly elected Scott Nishimoto.
Nishimoto, who will serve Council District 5, replaces Calvin Say, who in 2024 declared he would not seek reelection due to health concerns.
A lawyer and former state House representative, Nishimoto will represent a district that spans Palolo Valley, St. Louis Heights, Manoa, Moiliili, McCully, Ala Moana, Makiki and portions of Kakaako.
Tommy Waters, as well as Council members Tyler Dos Santos-Tam, Val Okimoto and Matt Weyer, continued their respective four-year terms, having taken their oaths of office Jan. 2, 2023.
As part of the regularly scheduled Council meeting, the panel unanimously voted to adopt Resolution 24-298, which reelected Waters to remain as Council chair and saw Cordero remain as floor leader.
The same resolution elected Weyer to Council vice chair, replacing Kia‘aina in that leadership role.
And at the ceremony — which included attendance by the governor, the lieutenant governor, Blangiardi, Formby and many neighbor island officials — Waters presented a similar message to one he had delivered during the same installation ceremony in 2023.
“Two years ago today exactly, I stood here and said we’ve got to work together,” he said. “We’ve got a common interest in Hawaii nei, and there’s so many problems. And if we work together we can move mountains.”
He noted three daunting issues the Council, the city administration and their state-level partners faced first included the need for more housing.
In particular, Waters claimed more dwelling units were greatly needed in the Iwilei district of Honolulu.
“It’s rife for redevelopment,” he said of the industrial and commercial area, “if the state, the city, OHA, who owns land there, Kamehameha Schools, Castle & Cooke, and private partners (can) come together and build housing for local people.”
Next, the Council chair wanted to see the future redevelopment of the area around the shuttered Aloha Stadium — now known as the New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District, which state officials say will become a mixed-use and transit- oriented development.
“And both (Iwilei and stadium) are on the rail line,” Waters said.
The third goal is to continue to protect Oahu’s clean drinking water, he said.
“Because the fact of the matter is, folks, if you don’t have clean drinking water, there is no affordable housing,” he said.
Still, he noted more work remained for the city and Council to tackle.
And citing a line from the television show “Game of Thrones,” Waters also warned, “Winter is coming.”
“You know, we should be preparing,” he added. “When times are lean, we’ve got to work even harder. We’ve got to look for savings without compromising our core services. And this is no easy task.”
He noted massive and expensive municipal projects still need to be completed — projects Oahu taxpayers will be asked to further fund.
“We’ve got to site a new landfill. It’s supposed to cost us about $1 billion,” he added. “We’ve got to upgrade the Sand Island Sewage Treatment Plant, which is going to cost between $1.8 (billion) and $2.5 billion.”
Moreover, he said city officials faced other looming actions.
Those included ongoing collective bargaining negotiations with city worker unions over pay and upgrades to aging city-owned facilities — including mold, lead and asbestos contamination that Waters claimed were present in the 100-year-old Honolulu Hale, which needed mitigation.
“And it isn’t just this building; it’s city buildings across the island,” he added. “And we need new equipment, like new ambulances, police cars. We need new cranes so we can clean our streams.”
“Where is that money going to come from?” Waters asked. “How do we pay for all of this stuff without burdening working families who are struggling to survive? This is the challenge posed to all of us as elected leaders.”
The full Council’s next meeting is scheduled for Jan. 29.
