Mayor Kirk Caldwell will re-emphasize his five priorities for Honolulu when he delivers his first State of the City speech at Mission Memorial Auditorium next to Honolulu Hale this morning.
The continued restoration of bus routes eliminated last year and an ambitious plan to pour $150 million into repaving roads are tops on the list of Caldwell, who took office Jan. 2.
The mayor is also expected to address his administration’s commitment to build a second "digester" at the Sand Island Wastewater Treatment Plant; plans to repair and improve Thomas Square and other city parks; and tackling homelessness issues based on a "housing first" philosophy that favors getting people into apartments and other traditional housing, rather than shelters.
Caldwell is also expected to discuss a commitment to make Honolulu an "age-friendly city" for seniors.
This year’s speech is somewhat unusual in that it is coming three months into the new year. Typically, Honolulu mayors have delivered their speeches in February, partly to unveil their agendas in advance of submitting their budgets to the City Council. Budgets are required to be delivered by March 1.
Last year then-Mayor Peter Carlisle held his second State of the City speech on Feb. 23. In 2011 Carlisle held his speech on Feb. 24. Mufi Hannemann, Carlisle’s predecessor, also typically held his speeches in late February.
Jesse Broder Van Dyke, Caldwell’s spokesman, said the mayor wanted to deliver his speech 100 days into his term.
"He wanted to have something substantive to speak about, accomplishments so far, and on-the-job assessment of issues the city is facing," Broder Van Dyke said.
Technically, April 10 is the 100th day of his term, but the meeting hall was already booked for a U.S. citizenship naturalization ceremony and Caldwell did not want to inconvenience people, he said.
