Veteran lawmaker Fukunaga joins 9 in City Council contest

State Sen. Carol Fukunaga filed nomination papers on Tuesday to run for the Honolulu City Council’s District 6 seat vacated earlier this month by congressional candidate Tulsi Gabbard.

Carol Fukunaga

Fukunaga, 64, has been in the Senate 20 years representing Makiki, Ala Moana and Punchbowl. She lost to fellow Sen. Brian Taniguchi in the Democratic primary on Aug. 11 after reapportionment placed them both in the same district.

Fukunaga had been living in Makiki just outside of the newly reapportioned District 6, which runs from a portion of Makiki to Aiea. She told reporters on Tuesday that she has now moved into the middle of District 6.

She estimated that about one-third of her current 11th Senate District is part of the new District 6.

"Just about every issue we have in my senatorial district involves city and state kinds of solutions so this is really kind of the next step," Fukunaga said.

BESIDES her two decades in the Senate, where she most recently chaired the Economic Development and Technology Committee, Fukunaga spent 10 years in the state House.

Fukunaga said she supports the city’s $5.26 billion rail project. "I have worked very hard on community-based, transit-oriented development projects over the last several years," she said, adding that she voted to support the half-percent general excise tax surcharge on Oahu taxpayers for the project. "I believe that transit offers a way of helping older communities really revitalize areas that need improvement and can provide more services for our citizens."

Fukunaga said the role of Council members, however, is "to scrutinize every expenditure very closely. If there are things that can be done better, I would certainly take a look at that."

Fukunaga is the 10th person to file as a candidate to fill the remaining two years on Gabbard’s term. They are: former Councilman Jon Yoshimura, Charles Amsterdam, James Brewer, Ryan Kapuniai, Steven Miller, Inam Rahman, Christopher "Nova" Smith, Robert Vieira and Arvid Youngquist.

The deadline to file is Friday.