In this era of reinventing yourself and second careers, it shouldn’t be remarkable that the top three contenders for Honolulu mayor aren’t particularly mayoral. What’s remarkable is that each wants to be mayor.
Peter Carlisle, Kirk Caldwell and Ben Cayetano are fixed solidly in the public consciousness in other roles.
Incumbent Carlisle is best known as, and arguably was best at, being city prosecutor. He established himself as the hero who brings bad guys to justice and comforts the victims of crime, but the jury is still out on his work as mayor. Cayetano says he’s coming out of retirement to run, but his presence still looms so large in Hawaii politics that it feels like he never left. And Kirk Caldwell, who was so sensible and steady as House majority leader, could be a force for good during this legislative session if only he’d go back.
But no. All three want to walk the drafty halls of Honolulu Hale, park in the squeezy space by the bushes, duke it out with the City Council over sewer fixes and leaky beach bathrooms and flip the switch for the Honolulu City Lights tree.
The unkind evaluation would be to claim that each is fighting boredom. The more positive way to say it is that all three are up for a challenge. There are numerous thankless jobs in politics, but Honolulu mayor seems to be the one with the largest stone that must be rolled up the steepest hill.
None of the three is in need of career reinvention, a way to pay the bills or are looking for a leg up to higher office. Apparently the ongoing debate over rail and the dizzying amounts of money involved in the project are a power struggle of such high stakes that no red-blooded politician who loves a good fight could bear to watch from the sidelines.
Cayetano has stressed that his candidacy is not all about hating rail: "Like most people, I’ve been alarmed by the dramatic increases in sewer and water fees and electricity rates. I’m shocked by the huge costs the city faces in upgrading and maintaining its sewer and water systems; the lack of funding to repave our roads, too many of which are so filled with potholes they could pass for streets in Third World countries; and of our city parks, many which are deteriorating with filthy toilets, leaking faucets and, shamefully, no toilet paper for lack of maintenance," he says on his website.
(Caldwell similarly griped about the lack of soap in bus-stop bathrooms, which begs the question of where Carlisle stands on the emotionally charged issue of what the government’s role should be in personal hygiene.)
For now, let’s appreciate the gift of three strong, accomplished mayoral candidates who seem to be genuinely focused on fixing the city, not on higher office. With the likes of Frank, Jeremy and Mufi, that’s a luxury Honolulu voters haven’t had in a long time.
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Reach Lee Cataluna at lcataluna@staradvertiser.com.
