Ariyoshi offers smart, sharp criticism of rail

In a commentary in the Star-Advertiser last week, former Gov. George Ariyoshi delivered the sharpest indictment yet of the city’s pending $1.4 billion contract with Ansaldo Honolulu to build and operate rail cars for the $5.3 billion Oahu transit system.

He said concerns about the company and a faulty bidding process raise "many questions about the chosen party’s ability to complete the project, from start to finish."

It’s compelling because Ariyoshi isn’t anti-rail — he declined to join the federal lawsuit to kill the project — and has no business or personal ties to either side in the rail squabble.

He’s just a concerned citizen who wants rail built right for the benefit of future generations, knows the public works bidding process intimately and detects a foul odor in the city’s handling of the Ansaldo deal.

Ariyoshi said the bidding lacked integrity because Ansaldo didn’t have a required Hawaii contractor’s license, for which it was recently fined $150,000, and its bid was "doctored to appear low," obscuring the true cost of the project.

He said the city failed its due diligence on Ansaldo’s performance problems in other cities, and questioned the stability of the parent company in Italy, which has raised the possibility of selling its rail unit because of its financial and managerial problems.

"The public has every right to expect that the city and the Honolulu Rapid Transportation Authority have left no stone unturned to ensure that the right, the best decision is made so that taxpayers’ dollars are spent wisely," Ariyoshi said.

Even many rail supporters are baffled by the city’s apparent fixation on Ansaldo from the start and dogged support for the company as reports have mounted about questionable performance and turmoil in the home office.

Competing bidders Sumitomo Corp. and Bombardier Transportation lost appeals with the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, which the city cites as proof that the bidding process followed the letter of the law.

But Ariyoshi argued that the city and HART have a responsibility beyond the letter of the law "to take every precaution to ensure that rail does not just get started, but that it is completed on time and on budget."

One factor distinguishing Ansaldo from other bidders is the Italian company’s attention to making local political connections.

Ansaldo’s "responsible managing employee," according to the state order fining Ansaldo $150,000 for not having a Hawaii license, is contractor Thomas Enomoto, whose company is known for ties to local elected officials.

Enomoto’s company gave City Councilman Nestor Garcia, the former Council chairman, a $30,000-a-year part-time position as a safety manager.

Ansaldo’s local spokeswoman is Carolyn Tanaka, who held a similar position with former Mayor Mufi Hannemann’s campaign for governor.

Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com or blog.volcanicash.net.