Voters in the urban City Council District 7, which includes Kalihi, are talking about core services, which means fixing potholes, bus service, trash pickup and fighting crime are the focus in the race to represent the area.
State House Vice Speaker Joey Manahan, who has stood for Kalihi Kai and surrounding areas in the Legislature since 2006, hopes to fill the seat Councilman Romy Cachola is vacating. Cachola, who served for 12 years, is stepping down because of term limits.
Also vying for the seat are first-time candidate Martin Han, former regional sales manager for Qualitek International, which manufactures soldering products; and Lillian Hong, a jewelry maker who has run eight times for various public offices including mayor and Council.
The district includes Kalihi, Sand Island, Salt Lake, Hickam Air Force Base and Ford Island.
Han and Manahan both favor the $5.26 billion rail project, while Hong opposes it.
Han believes the rail line will spur redevelopment in some urban neighborhoods that need it, which will also create badly needed jobs.
"With the development from the rail, it’s going to push the revitalization of my district, especially Kalihi," he said. He predicted the system will be well used by district residents.
However, if it becomes clear the project will cost more than the city predicted, or if rail fails to create the local jobs that were promised, Han said it should be put to another public vote.
Han, 27, described himself as a blue-collar guy who is running because "I really believe this district needs a fighter, who is willing to fight for the families." He said he is uncomfortable with what he describes as "back-door politics."
"I think we need to make sure that we hold these people accountable and spend the people’s money correctly," he said.
He said potholes and overdue road maintenance are major issues for the district, but "the only time the community see that these issues are being dealt with is election time."
Trash is also an issue, including garbage left on the street and illegal dumping by some contractors who deposit debris from construction jobs on street corners, he said.
The solution is to provide trash pickup on some streets that don’t currently have it, and to use neighborhood watch volunteers to report illegal dumping, he said.
Manahan, who was first elected to the House in 2006, said he has already been dealing day to day with many of the issues that concern residents, "and having firsthand knowledge, I think, is really helpful."
Honolulu needs a financial plan that will set out exactly how the city will pay for the federally required upgrades to the Sand Island wastewater treatment plant, Manahan said.
"Where is the financial plan for this important project?" he asked. "I don’t see it just coming out of sewer fees or real property taxes. I mean, we would have to raise property taxes so high just to be able to do that. That’s a $5 billion project."
Manahan, 41, said the city needs to convince the state and federal governments to help pay for the sewer improvements, possibly by asking the state for a larger share of the hotel room tax.
"I think we should be able to anticipate it and develop a financial plan so it is a little bit more palatable to the pocketbook of the taxpayers," Manahan said.
A new issue for Manahan emerged earlier this month when the state Campaign Spending Commission asked him to explain a large number of filings on his most recent campaign spending statement for reimbursements for meals.
KRISIN Izumi-Nitao, executive director of the commission, said Manahan listed 143 reimbursements for food and beverages from Jan. 1 to June 30 that totaled $9,660.58.
Campaign funds can only be used for campaign expenses and not for personal expenses, and the commission is trying the determine whether those food expenses were related to campaign activities, she said.
Manahan’s campaign was given until Wednesday to justify the expenses. Manahan is one of about 50 candidates that have been asked to clarify or explain portions of their filings, she said.
Asked for a comment on the meal reimbursements, Manahan replied in a written statement that "Anyone can bring a complaint, and generate a headline or two. But I am confident the Campaign Spending Commission will find that these expenditures are proper and totally above board, and reflect my extensive grassroots efforts in the Council district I hope to represent."
Hong, 71, said the central issue in the district is crime, and she wants to launch a new kind of policing program to more quickly notify police of crimes and other problems.
Hong said she believes in the "broken windows" theory that suggests that disorder in a community and crime are linked. The idea is that quickly dealing with small problems such as broken windows or graffiti can help to make neighborhoods more safe and secure.
Hong said she wants the city to field an islandwide force of about 1,000 new employees who would be responsible for patrolling neighborhoods to watch for problems, and would report petty crimes or more serious issues to the police immediately.
This new plainclothes patrol force would be more highly trained and paid than regular security guards, but the city would not need to pay them as much as police, she said.
Hong said she does not know how much the new security force would cost, but believes the city can find the money by simply cutting funding from other departments.
She contends city departments spend too much money, and believes they can get by with less if the Council cuts their funding.
