The three main candidates for Honolulu mayor spent Wednesday making some of their final pitches to voters before next week, when absentee ballots go out across the state.

Incumbent Peter Carlisle, former city Managing Director Kirk Caldwell and former Gov. Ben Cayetano all appeared Wednesday night at a forum sponsored by organizations of the construction industry and real estate businesses.

Carlisle and Caldwell also appeared earlier in the day at a forum sponsored by the Kailua Chamber of Commerce. Cayetano said he was unable to attend because he was shooting a commercial.

The night forum was sponsored by the Building Industry Association of Hawaii, the Honolulu Board of Realtors, the General Contractors Association of Hawaii, American Council of Engineering Companies of Hawaii) andthe  Land Use Research Foundation of Hawaii. While many questions centered on topics such as affordable housing, homelessness and development, much of the discussion was steered toward the city’s rail project.

"These questions are too dull. Let’s get into the real meat of it," Cayetano joked.

With most of their positions already well known — thanks to four live, televised statewide debates — the candidates stayed mostly on point and repeated their main claims: Carlisle as the one who can see the rail project through, Caldwell as the one who could see it through better and Cayetano as the one who would bring it to a halt.

While Carlisle contends that Cayetano, if elected, would not be able to stop the rail — citing a City Charter amendment voters approved in 2008 that calls for a steel-wheel on steel-rail transit system — Caldwell has said he thinks Cayetano would succeed at killing the project but that voters would eventually come to regret the move.

"Voting for me and for rail is about a future that is different. It’s about walking into a sunrise," Caldwell said. "You vote for Ben, and you kill rail, you’re looking backward at a sunset."

Cayetano challenged Caldwell’s assertions that the $5.26 billion rail project will be fully paid for by the general excise tax surcharge on Oahu and federal funds, saying that such an outcome was likely only if conditions are perfect.

"This is children inexperienced with financing," Cayetano said, again asking his opponents whether they had a backup plan should funds fall short or costs run over budget.

Carlisle said the city’s backup plan would be to follow the law, while Caldwell said Cayetano was playing into taxpayers’ fears about cost overruns by constantly raising the subject. He said there were no backup plans for the H-1, H-2 or H-3 freeways.

Carlisle noted that tax collections have been strong and material costs low, adding that language in rail contracts allows the city to sue to recover costs if contractors are not on time or on budget.

"Take a look at how we’re doing right now with collection. We are doing better than we had anticipated," Carlisle said. "Things have come in under budget because this is a good time because there are people who are on the bench and need to get back to work."