A particularly exhausting election season refuses to end on the national level, reflecting a divisiveness deeper than most dared to believe. Even so, all elected leaders must fully commit to this common goal: to stabilize our governments and COVID-hit economies.
On Oahu, voters have put their trust in Rick Blangiardi, who appears to have defeated Keith Amemiya in a record voter turnout, in Hawaii’s first all-mail general election. But with the U.S. presidency still in the balance early today, the razor-thin battle between Donald Trump and Joseph Biden is a harsh outcome for Democrats eager for an end to Trump’s tumult. Much more certainly will be said this week about the tight presidential race.
For today, though, nearer-home issues take the spotlight: A new Honolulu mayor will lead renewed efforts to ease the struggles of residents hard hit by the ongoing pandemic fallout.
Blangiardi — the retired general manager of Hawaii News Now and former president of national Hispanic network Telemundo — will need every ounce of his leadership skills and business acumen to lead the city to economic recovery and community health.
Like his rival Amemiya, Blangiardi was a political neophyte making his first run for elective office. The fact that voters chose both as their Top 2 finalists for Oahu’s top job over more seasoned politicos revealed a rejection of politics as usual, and instead, a hope for fresher mindsets and creative governance.
It will be intriguing indeed to watch the Blangiardi administration form and unfold, tackling a raft of thorny city priorities: helping businesses reopen and recover; working with the state on more COVID-related testing and initiatives; dealing with declining revenues for city operations due to property tax abeyance and loss of hotel-room taxes; and not least of all, completing the over-budget $10 billion rail project.
Whom Blangiardi names to his transition team, and who will become city department heads, will be crucial to his success — and this city’s. Blangiardi will need knowledgeable advisers to help him navigate government processes, yet be savvy enough to deploy diplomacy and innovation to overcome cumbersome bureaucracy.
“My experience turning around troubled companies in troubled times has taught me that a crisis calls for the kind of leader who knows how to adapt on a moment’s notice, make decisions as opportunities appear, think outside the box, forge new relationships built on creativity and shared goals and, most of all, build a team where all are committed to success,” Blangiardi said on his campaign website.
Whereas candidate Blangiardi touted a formidable roster of community organizations he’s worked with, such as chairing the Hawaii Chamber of Commerce, Mayor Blangiardi will now have to bring those connections and networks to bear on behalf of city taxpayers.
Such goodwill and teamwork to move Oahu forward also will be vital between the new mayor and a revamped City Council, which will welcome five new members among its nine. Productive relationships will need to be forged in City Hall, keeping in mind policies and programs to help residents dealing with hardships such as job loss or housing difficulties.
A candid, smooth transition to Blangiardi from the outgoing Caldwell administration is crucial for this struggling city, especially with belt-tightening on the horizon for the city budget — which likely will mean tough choices on city jobs, service levels and fees for services. The depth of the city’s financial woes has been masked somewhat by $387 million in federal funds from the CARES Act, but further federal help remains out of sight.
Record voter turnout was top-line news in this general election — here and across the U.S. — and such engagement in itself is a resounding success. Hawaii’s inaugural all-mail election season was on track to be likewise, until Tuesday night’s last-minute pile-up of voters at Oahu’s two voter service centers, Honolulu Hale and Kapolei Hale. Having just two Oahu walk-in voting sites on Election Day is clearly inadequate and will need to be reassessed, to prevent the 11th-hour snafu that delayed results.
But that’s for the next election, two years hence. For now, with economic and health concerns roiling, the task at hand for our newly elected leaders and their incumbent peers will be to steer Oahu and our other island communities past these rough pandemic waters, sooner rather than later.
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Tomorrow: Assessing the tight race for U.S. president.
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