In a make-or-break year for Honolulu rail, the contenders for U.S. Senate, like many Oahu voters, are divided along party lines over the $5.27 billion project.
U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono and former congressman Ed Case, the Democratic candidates, favor rail and would be advocates for federal money for the project. Former Gov. Linda Lingle, the leading Republican candidate, opposes the project and would instead pursue federal money for mass transit alternatives.
Honolulu is expected to learn from the Federal Transit Administration this fall whether the federal government will provide $1.55 billion to help finance the elevated 20-mile rail line from Kapolei to Ala Moana. A federal lawsuit alleging that the environmental impact statement for the project was faulty is pending before the courts.
But politics could also have an influence on rail’s future. Former Gov. Ben Cayetano, a Democrat running for mayor, has said he would attempt to block the project if elected. A Lingle victory in the Senate race could create a wedge against rail in the state’s congressional delegation.
In 1992, the last time Honolulu was as close to rail, it was a political act, and not regulators or the courts, that killed the project. Rene Mansho, who was then the swing vote for rail on the Honolulu City Council, switched her vote and doomed the project.
U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, recalled what he described as the painful Council vote 20 years ago, which ended up costing the city millions in federal dollars for rail. The senior senator said that whenever he is back in the islands for an extended period, he likes to schedule an event on the west side so he can get a reminder of the traffic gridlock.
"Just so I can get back this way and cuss myself," he told Star-Advertiser reporters and editors last week. "You go through that traffic jam, if you don’t cuss, then you’re a saint.
"I’m not a saint."
A Hawaii Poll found that a majority of Oahu voters do not want work on the rail project to proceed, an erosion of support since a survey taken last spring. Voters, however, were split along party lines. Democrats, at 54 percent, were far more likely than Republicans (29 percent) and independents (24 percent) to want work on rail to continue.
Hirono and Case both cited traffic gridlock as the reason for rail to proceed. While the project is not intended to reduce traffic from existing levels, it is expected to provide commuters with a transportation alternative and contain the projected increase in traffic linked to population growth and housing development.
"My role, along with the other members of our delegation, is to make sure that whatever federal resources can come to help us with this project will be there, and will come our way," said Hirono, who serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
Hirono said Honolulu has been discussing rail for a generation while traffic has gotten worse.
"Look at the traffic congestion — 24/7 — on our highways. Even the neighborhood roads are totally congested. So I support rail as an option, as a way for people to get from point A to point B without sitting in their cars," she said.
Case said he would consider it part of his duty as a senator to help Honolulu achieve rail, although he has concerns about transparency and cost containment.
"All you have to do is just come out with me and sign-wave at 5:30 in the morning on Fort Weaver Road or in Kapolei or Mililani to understand how people are living their lives today, and then project that 25 or 50 years forward with another couple of hundred thousand people here," he said.
"I cannot imagine Honolulu as a workable and livable city in the next days without it, and I don’t believe that the alternative will achieve what we’re looking for, which is high volume, high capacity, frequent schedule transportation for Honolulu."
Lingle’s views on rail have changed over the years. As governor in 2003, she proposed a light rail transit system and an elevated highway to ease west side traffic congestion. In her State of the State address in 2005, she said she was a supporter of mass transit on Oahu and offered to work with then-Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann on a solution. Later that summer, she let a bill authorizing the City Council to add a general-excise tax surcharge for rail become law without her signature.
But by 2008, when rail went before Oahu voters, Lingle said she personally voted against the project. In 2010, the last year of her second term, she ordered an independent financial analysis and declined to sign the final environmental impact statement for rail until the analysis was completed. Gov. Neil Abercrombie signed the final EIS for rail during his first month in office in December 2010.
Lingle said she has serious reservations about the financial impact of the rail project on Hawaii, including neighbor island residents who will not directly benefit. She said she doubts that annual ridership and associated fees will produce enough revenue to maintain the rail system, placing an unacceptable financial risk on the city and the state.
She added that the debt load for rail exceeds the city’s budget guidelines. The city has suspended its debt service guidelines to allow for the additional borrowing necessary to build the rail project.
Lingle also said she has concerns with the city’s over-reliance on the federal government for construction funding and warned that if all the federal money does not materialize, the financial burden would fall on Hawaii taxpayers.
"Simply building a rail system on Oahu is not the solution to Hawaii’s transportation needs," Lingle said in a statement. "We must think and plan more broadly. In addition to mass transit, we must create jobs where people live. We must have a vision that includes not only our past problems, but our future goals. In summary, we need to take a step back, focus on the big picture and then decide if the current rail project is truly the right fit for Oahu’s transportation needs, and we must make that decision considering the best interest of all of Hawaii’s residents.
"For now, I have serious reservations with the City and County of Honolulu’s proposed rail project and I cannot and will not, in good faith, support the project as it is presently being administered," Lingle added.
John Carroll, Lingle’s opponent in the Republican primary, strongly opposes the rail project. The attorney and former stage lawmaker said the project is too expensive for Honolulu and its scale and design inappropriate for Hawaii.
Carroll said Lingle reneged on her 2002 pledge to Americans for Tax Reform not to raise taxes as governor when she let the authorization for the rail surcharge become law without her signature.
Politically, Lingle’s opposition to rail will likely play well among Republicans and independents. But she needs moderate Democrats to cross over and vote for her to be competitive against either Hirono or Case.
Walter Heen, a retired judge and former chairman of the Democratic Party of Hawaii, is a plaintiff in the federal lawsuit against rail and is advising Cayetano in the nonpartisan mayor’s race.
Cayetano, who has a long history with the party, may be able to hold on to a significant portion of Democrats despite his anti-rail stance, along with locking down the Democrats who are against rail. The Hawaii Poll found that Cayetano has a slight lead over Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle among Democrats. A majority of Democrats also had a favorable opinion of the former governor.
Heen said he doubts many Democrats who oppose rail would gravitate toward Lingle in the Senate race on that issue alone.
"Probably not," he said.
