Mayoral candidates deploy attack ads
CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
During debates and forums held in recent weeks, mayoral candidates have traded barbs on rail. Here incumbent Mayor Kirk Caldwell, left, took issue with former U.S. Rep. Charles Djou during a televised mayoral debate on Hawaii News Now on Aug. 2. Also at the debate was former Mayor Peter Carlisle.
CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
Radio and television advertising for mayoral candidates have been on the offensive, attacking opponents rather than touting the virtues of their own candidate. Here supporters campaign the traditional way for Mayor Kirk Caldwell and former U.S. Rep. Charles Djou by waving signs along South King Street before a televised mayoral debate at KITV on July 28.
Just days before Saturday’s primary election, both Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell and his challenger former U.S. Rep. Charles Djou are turning up the heat in television and radio commercials and other campaign material — attacking each other rather than touting their own attributes.
Djou for Mayor ads say Caldwell “threatened” to raise property taxes to support the $8 billion rail project while receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from its contractors.
Caldwell for Mayor ads point to Djou’s record in Congress, the state House of Representatives and City Council, painting him as someone who doesn’t “put people first.”
The stakes are high among the field of 11 candidates for Honolulu mayor. A person who finishes first Saturday with 50 percent of votes cast plus one vote would be declared the winner. If no one reaches that threshold, the two top finishers go head to head in the Nov. 8 general election. Recent polls, including one done for the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, put Djou running ahead of Caldwell but not reaching the “50 percent plus one” threshold needed to win outright.
The Djou ads claiming Caldwell threatened to raise property taxes for rail are based on a January 2015 meeting held jointly by the Senate Ways and Means and House Finance committees in which the mayor testified in favor of extending the 0.5 percent surcharge on general excise tax on Oahu. In the radio and television ads, Caldwell is heard saying, “To raise the money to pay and operate this system, we’re talking about raising property taxes in the 30 to 43 percent range.”
Caldwell has objected strenuously to the claim, pointing out that he only gave the estimate on how much would need to be raised because the question about property taxes and other possible funding alternatives was put to him by a lawmaker. A review of a videotape of the meeting backs up Caldwell’s comments.
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Since the campaign began in June, Caldwell has also vowed, as have both Djou and former Mayor Peter Carlisle, that he would reject any plan to increase property tax rates.
Lex Smith, Caldwell campaign chairman, said Djou’s camp “cut-and-pasted totally out of context” the mayor’s comments on property taxes from January 2015. “Mayor Caldwell has never threatened to raise property taxes to pay for the construction of rail,” Smith said. “The mayor clearly stated that he would not want to raise property taxes that put too huge a burden on taxpayers.”
But Djou insisted that even if it came up in response to a question, lawmakers understood Caldwell would support raising property tax rates if the excise surcharge was not raised.
Rail clearly is the top issue for Oahu voters. Recent estimates show the project is $1 billion short and will not be able to stretch 20 miles to Ala Moana Center with current funding sources.
The Djou ads, as well as his recent campaign brochures, say that the mayor received more than $700,000 from contractors and subcontractors of rail. Djou gave the Honolulu Star-Advertiser a spreadsheet he said was derived by taking a list of names of contractors and subcontractors that the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation gave to the media in 2015 and matching them up with the names of campaign donors found in the election financing reports the Caldwell campaign has filed since he began running for mayor in 2010.
A survey the Star-Advertiser did for a story that ran in April 2015 showed Caldwell received at least $566,196 in contributions from rail contractors and subcontractors from 2010 to 2014. The story noted that HART had not publicly released a full list of subcontractors. HART officials have said they are not required to do so.
“We do not keep track of which individuals from which industries have contributed what amounts to our campaign,” Smith said. “We presume people who contribute to our campaign do so because they agree with the mayor’s policies.”
Smith stressed that the semiautonomous HART, not the mayor or Council, is authorized to award contracts through a bid and procurement process.
Smith also suggested that other contractors who played key roles in fundraising for political candidates are now contributing to the Djou campaign.
A look at Djou’s most recent campaign financing reports show half a dozen top officials or employees of engineering firm Mitsunaga and Associates contributed to the former congressman’s bid for mayor. Company CEO Dennis Mitsunaga has long been associated with the campaigning efforts of various Hawaii politicos from former Gov. Ben Ca- yetano, who is now backing the Djou campaign, to former Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris. Mitsunaga officials also contributed to past Caldwell campaigns, but not in the past several years.
Djou, in response, said the number of contractors contributing to his campaign do not come near the volume of donations the incumbent’s campaign has collected.
The most recent Caldwell radio ads attack Djou, attempting to paint him as a conservative Republican in a largely Democratic state. The race is nonpartisan, and Djou has received the support of former GOP Lt. Gov James Duke Aiona as well as former Democratic Gov. Cayetano. Djou also has the support of a handful of trade unions that traditionally have shied away from Republicans.
“In Congress, he voted with Republican leadership nearly 90 percent of the time,” the Caldwell ad states. Djou voted against health care benefits for 9/11 first responders and “needed Wall Street reforms.” As congressman he also voted against extending unemployment benefits for those who lost jobs during the recession and funding that would have prevented teacher furloughs and firings, the ad said. “Yet he supported $690 billion in tax cuts for the wealthiest 2 percent.”
Djou sent to the Star-Advertiser a report from the Congressional Quarterly showing that in 2010 he had a “party unity” vote of 76 percent and a “presidential support” score of 52 percent.
Djou questioned the Caldwell campaign’s methodology, saying they “cherry-picked” from a sampling period, noting that the Congressional Quarterly report counted him taking part in 355 votes. In fact, he said, the Congressional Quarterly and other publications singled him out as being a centrist.
“My voting has always been with Hawaii’s best interest in mind,” Djou said.
Smith, in response, said his numbers came from a Washington Post Congressional Votes Database that shows that of 98 votes and two abstentions Djou cast in Congress, 82 were “with GOP leadership.”
The “party unity” description cited by Djou appears to be a subjective measure, Smith said.
During a series of seven debates and forums held in recent weeks, Caldwell and Djou have traded barbs about who has the better plan for rail and insisted that the other either has no plan or one that isn’t viable.
106 responses to “Mayoral candidates deploy attack ads”
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Djou calls himself a “centrist”? Give me a break! He voted against Wall Street reform, unemployment benefits for those who lost their jobs in the recession, aid to the states for teachers (including Hawaii!), took the Tea Party tax pledge, cost-of-living increases for state and county retirees, opposed Obama’s stimulus plans, and voted for tax cuts for the wealthiest 2%. But the very worst is that Djou voted against medical benefits for 9/11 First Responders, which should totally disqualify him from being the being the mayor in charge of our police, fire and emergency services.
KamaiianaGuy says: “Djou calls himself a “centrist”? Give me a break! ”
Here’s what that notorious ultra-right-wing news site The Civil Beat 😉 said about that claim:
Djou: “I Was Hawaii’s Most Moderate Congressman”. TRUE
“Djou was ranked one of only 10 moderates in the 111th Congress by the National Journal. He was the most moderate member of Hawaii’s congressional delegation in 2010. Civil Beat finds his statements to be TRUE.”
http://www.civilbeat.org/2012/09/17251-fact-check-djou-i-was-hawaiis-most-moderate-congressman/
Charles Djou is a Tea Party obstructionist by evidence of his voting with the Tea Party to protect the largest of domestic and foreign corporations from paying taxes like hard working Americans. His reason for voting against health benefits for 9/11 first responders which was to be paid for by closing loopholes foreign corporations used to avoid taxes is it would hurt their profits. Djou is a true red Tea Partier.
Kinda like Hillary protects her huge corporate doners! You’re a total hypocrite.
Kinda like Hillary protects her huge corporate doners!
OD – Not so fast. Didn’t see any credible references to back up your claims. Got any?
OldDiver is like wiliki. He doesn’t care about references or backing up his claims.
And why would Charles Djou care about “closing loopholes for foreign corporations”?
You and wiliki need to work harder.
The old guy is like PRP. Just start a rumor for all the Gruber voters to start having doubts in their mind. I’m hoping that if Hawaii’s voters are as smart as they say they are then they should see thru all this shibai. Fool us once PRP shame on you. Fool us twice shame on the voters.
The James Zadroga 9/11 Health Bill passed the Democratically controlled House without the support of Charles Djou. This is a recap. http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/12/09/senate.9.11.responders/index.html
Charles Djou along with Michelle Bachmann were House Tea Party members. This link explains why Charles and Michelle voted against the 9/11 health bill. http://politicalcorrection.org/blog/201012230002
manawai, Hillary has large corporate donors, and so do the Republicans, like the Koch brothers, Vegas Casino Andelson, and a lot of Political Action Committees, hiding their large corporate contributors under Citizens United, which in itself is a travesty of one man, one vote, allowing corporations to buy elections
Jus saw Djou’s ad on the tele. The ad shows a book, titled Fairy Tales. It opens, reads “On time, on budget”. Then the ad says, “Caldwell has no plan”. The entire ad has no mention of any Djou plan, budget, or schedule. What a joke.
Even if Djou didn’t specify a plan, Kirk has no plan, which is true. The FTA is still waiting for that plan…..
Keolu, Kirk’s plan is the one that has been in the making for decades, and has been approved by the Federal Transit Administration. Per the contract with the Feds to build rail all the way to Ala Moana Center and the 21 metro stations, the feds have allocated $1.5 billion for the rail metro project. We have to abide by the contract, otherwise we may lose the $1.5 billion. Djou has no plan to build all the way to Ala Moana Center and all those 21 metro stations. He is only tossing out wild, unworkable ideas, has no budget, and no schedule.
We definitely need a change in city hall. Caldwell and Carlisle have had their chances and both failed miserably. Reigning in skyrocketing costs of rail is the most important defining agenda on which folks will vote or have already voted on. Djou is the only one of the three that has the fortitude to do this.
The reality is Charles Djou is the only one telling the truth. A vote for Charles Djou
will allow the changes that we need on the RUSTING RAIL project and to hold the city’s reign’s
when it comes to taxes. My vote goes to Charles Djou.
Charles Djou voted against eight pay raises for Council Members. Charles Djou took all eight pay raises. Charles Djou is a member of the Tea Party of NO except when it comes to Charles Djou.
And kirk said on time and on budget. What exactly is your point?
OD – You failed to mention other elected bureaucrats who also took the pay raise. Not like you can say I don’t want the pay raise.
You also failed to mention how many other of our elected bureaucrats have openly advocated against pay raises. Can you say “The list is small, very few names.” I thought you could.
Kirky Boy and Caldwell are two angry old men living in the past. Tax and spend is all they know. Stick the crushing cost of their special projects on the backs of taxpayers.
Old dribble is back again with vector as a pro-rail Caldwell employee and like Hillary a bunch of lies from them – Vote Djou for an honest Mayor
The votes on the council were generally 8-1 in favor of the pay raises with Charles Djou the only no vote. Despite voting no Djou took every pay raise. At least the other council members were honest about taking the pay raise.
Charles Djou is in la la land, if he thinks ending the rail project when we use up the $5.6 billion, and switch to a ground level guide way, is totally unworkable and not feasible. He would not get the rail all the way to Ala Moana Center as desired by the 64% of voters in the latest poll. He does not have a plan, a schedule, or a budget to achieve this. He is like Trump, making things up as he goes along
Wondermn,liar liar house on fire, more lies from you about me. I do not work for Caldwell or the city, or HART. You really are a slimy person.
Wondermn, how would you know about truth, since you cannot distinguish between truth and illusion, as you spread your malicious lies. You make accusations about me, without knowing anything about me, in the same way you attack and accuse everyone who supports the rail metro project. You are a bigot par excellence
Vote for Djou, and you will be throwing away all the planning, design, construction and money away already invested and expended on rail. All the planning and work Mayor Caldwell has done for the city, to repair our roadways, buses, sewers, parks, beaches, utilities, provide for more affordable housing, resolve are homeless problem, are in jeopardy.
The best financially run states are republican. The worst, democratic.
“The ten most financially sound states in the country are all heavily Republican, while all but one of the ten worst states are heavily Democratic. That’s according to a ranking of states in a new report from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University”
Link: http://www.investors.com/politics/commentary/best-run-states-are-heavily-republican-study-finds/
keolu, most of the Republican states in the South, have low gross domestic productivity, low education levels, high levels of unemployment, high poverty rates, and poor economies
Where’s your link Vector?
Or are you just going to do like wililki and OldDiver and waste everyone’s time by making claims that you are unwilling to back up?
My link is Louisiana and Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Kansas, highest poverty rates, low education levels, high unemployment rates, depressed economies
Vector is just making unsubstantiated claims. Something that many democrats and pro rail people do.
keolu, you make unsubstantiated claims everyday, dealing in innuendo and half truths
Vector the Rail has caused many business people to close the doors and go out of business . The Union workers on the Rail are mostly from Washington & Texas, very few from Hawaii .
The reality is the local Unions would have plenty of work fixing our roads & local infrastructure so Caldwell needs to go– Vote Djou for our future
Vector and wiliki claim I lie or make questionable claims but oddly enough, they never name these lies or questionable claims that I supposedly made.
On the other hand, I can easily name and point to their questionable claims.
wiliki lies that rail is already paid for.
And here’s vector’s refusal to back up his questionable claim:
“My link is Louisiana and Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Kansas, highest poverty rates, low education levels, high unemployment rates, depressed economies”
I rest my case.
wondermn, if all the people working on the rail project are from the mainland, explain why the construction industry now is fully employed and booming. There are many people working on the rail project directly or indirectly. The planners, engineers, designers, The Federal, State, and City plan reviewers, the utility companies, like HECO, Board of Water, Oceanic, Hawaiian Telcom, which are relocating and upgrading the sewer, water, water and telcom lines, the State Dept of Transportation engineers and crews working on the street and intersection improvements along the rail guide way and around the metro stations, the material suppliers like Ameron, and the steel manufacturers and distibutors. The rail project is creating and generating a lot of work for many people, and is a major contributor to our booming economy
Djou is putting in JEOPARDY all the initiatives and plans of the State and City. He is a danger to our fiscal health and for the planned future of Honolulu and Oahu
Keolu, I do not rely on right wing, fascist Tea Party, Trump propaganda groups for my sources of information, and validationh
You rely on making things up for your information.
Djou, has a track record of not accomplishing much
You want change at City Hall. With Djou, you will not have any change, because Djou does not have a valid plan, budget, or schedule. He is starting from scratch
“Caldwell for Mayor ads point to Djou’s record in Congress, the state House of Representatives and City Council, painting him as someone who doesn’t “put people first.”
Unlike Mr Caldwell who puts developers and plugged-in insiders first. They’re people too, right.
It’s ironic that clodwell is complaining about attack ads after the mayoral campaign he and PRP waged against Cayetano 4 years ago.
Those developers, PRP, construction industry and unions are supporting Caldwell because he has a history of supporting rail and the construction industry, which in turn creates jobs for the construction industry which is now booming. They have good reason to support Mayor Caldwell since he puts food on the table and a roof over all those peoples heads. What has Djou done for the construction industry, and development in the State. ZILCH
No one has ever said that Mayor Caldwell wasn’t good for DR Horton and Howard Hughes.
“”Charles Djou, was endorsed by five unions in the state on Monday.
They include:
•Reggie Castanares, Plumbers and Fitters Union, Local 675
•Damien Kim, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 1186
•International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 1260
•Douglas Fulp, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers, Local 132
•Marc Yamane, International Union of Elevator Constructors, Local 126″”
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/32321136/charles-djou-grabs-endorsements-by-five-labor-unions
keolu, you failed to mention, Caldwell has the support of major unions in the State, not only the construction related unions
And vector failed to mention the unions supporting Djou. So I mentioned it.
What has Djou done to provide affordable housing or to alleviate homelessness. Nothing. His history shows what kind of future we will have, if he is Mayor.
Djou was out of office. But let’s see what kirk has done.
Rail 5 years behind schedule due to poor management and poor planning. Billions of dollars over budget.
Those 2 reasons are plenty to justify replacing kirk with someone else.
In all honesty what could Djou have done for the construction sector lately, he’s been out of office for over 4 years now and before that, he was in Washington. Honestly what has Caldwell really done. Repaved roads that didn’t need repaving over those that did only to make it seem like miles of roadwork was done. All the while, roads that really needed the repaving had to wait till later.
Caldwell has worked on the new sewer tunnel between Kaneohe and Kailua, the repaving and repairs of hundreds of miles of roads, relocated the homeless from Waikiki, Kakaako, downtown Honolulu, into shelters, created homeless shelters on Sand Island, supported the planning and construction of affordable housing and rentals around the future metro stations, relocated and upgraded the utilities and streets along the rail guide way, upgraded the H-power trash to energy plant, improved our sewer treatment plants on Sand Island, Honouliuli, maintained, improved and added regional parks, improved bus services, handivan services, supported the planning and development of the rail guide way and metro stations. Charles Djou does not have the background, knowledge or experience to continue the work that Mayor Caldwell has accomplished
And Caldwell is 5 years behind schedule and billions over budget after saying rail would be on time and on budget.
Kalaheo1, those developers and Contractors are building our homes and condos. Attacking and slandering them, does nothing to create more affordable housing and rentals for the rest of us.
Djou is playing unfair with the real property tax for rail ad. Caldwell has always said he would never raise real property taxes. This makes me not trust Djou and his campaign team.
At the same time Caldwell also said “on time and on budget” so who do you trust more?
Only a person with a crystal ball or a direct line to God, would be able to predict the cost and schedule of the complex rail project. I trust Mayor Caldwell way more to complete rail than a lying Djou, who is still searching for a realistic plan to build rail, and has done nothing for this city during all those years he has been in public office
Vector says: “Only a person with a crystal ball or a direct line to God, would be able to predict the cost and schedule of the complex rail project. I trust Mayor Caldwell way more to complete rail than a lying Djou, who is still searching for a realistic plan to build rail, and has done nothing for this city during all those years he has been in public office”
1) If Mayor Caldwell wasn’t in a position to make those promises, then he shouldn’t have made them and he shouldn’t have mislead the public by pretending he was going to do something that you say he couldn’t. Don’t you agree?
2) Mayor Caldwell’s current business plan for rail is “to hope to find the money” despite the fact the FTA is so disgusted they are withholding what they’ve already promised and the developers have no interest in paying for rail after they made all those donations to his campaign.
Anyone in the construction business knows to never make that promise. Why would his pals in the construction industry let him say that.
Djou’s plan is NO PLAN, NO BUDGET, NO SCHEDULE. Jumping from the pot into the fire.
Mikehono says: “Caldwell has always said he would never raise real property taxes.”
He also promised to “build rail better” and bring it in on time and on budget.
And when he was testifying before the State Legislature and begging them to extend the rail tax, he ALSO promised that would be enough to finish the project the Ala Moana Mall AND get started planning extensions.
So… why are you wasting you time telling us things that Kirk Caldwell promised?
And the implied threat was that if the State Legislature didn’t give him the GET extension, he would have no choice but to raise property taxes.
“if the State Legislature didn’t give him the GET extension, he would have no choice but to raise property taxes.”
Funny how he didn’t talk about “finding the money” back then. It was option #1 to raise property taxes.
More distortions from kalaheo1 and keolu- Caldwell was asked at a hearing, how much in property taxes would it take to complete rail. He replied, but did not state he would be raising property taxes, which he has repeatedly said he would not raise property taxes.
I am glad they are looking at other options to finance the completion of the rail project. So your point of Caldwell raising property taxes is really mute now.
So… you don’t think he meant that if the legislature didn’t allow him to extend the rail tax to “finish” then property taxes would go up?
Why do you think he brought it up while they were making their decision then.
And he also lied about it being enough to finish the project and explore extensions.
How can you sit there and blatantly lie about not raising property taxes. Caldwell used the threat of having to raise property taxes 30-40% if the legislature didn’t extend the GET surcharge. Had the legislature not have caved in to Caldwell’s threat and not approve the extension what would have been the Mayor’s only option to get the finding needed to build rail. Raise property taxes like he stated earlier.
No one wants to talk about how to pay for rail’s monthly O&M costs estimated between $20-50 million per month.
GET will expire so where will the money come from? Not from fares as the recoup rate is estimated to be a low of 30%. 70% must come from somewhere.
Either you create a new, permanent GET or you raise property taxes. Not enough money in the system now to cover this cost.
In the end it will fall on the backs of taxpayers.
Actually the Legislature extended GET and NO property taxes were raised. So that was a ruse. CALDWELL cannot just raise the tax without full Council approval. If your council member raised it,vote them out. We in district 1 voted Berg out.
And kirk is hoping to get re-elected so he can raise property taxes to fund the boondoggle to Ala Moana.
Time for a change.
polekasta- 30% to 40% property tax increase is absurd. Caldwell and no one in the legistlature would even dream up and consider it. GET REAL
Then WHY did Caldwell say that? THAT is why people are seeing through all this shibai.
Are you kidding? Aside from a permanent GET extension, property tax is Kirk’s #1 option to fund rail.
Vector,
Here’s my response with article link proving it’s what Caldwell said about property taxes.
Caldwell was unable to point to what law restricts the project’s funding sources but was firm in his belief that those were the only two options. He added that the county would have to raise property taxes 33 percent to 43 percent to raise enough money for the rail project…http://www.civilbeat.org/2015/01/state-lawmakers-lambaste-mayor-over-request-to-extend-rail-tax/
If you have anything to refute it, I’d like to see, with some kind of link to an article to prove it.
WAKE UP Mike. Kirk boy has been LYING this whole time and will LIE to get a vote. I DO NOT TRUST this guy !
Mikehono – Not your fault as a rookie poster you are unaware you can never, ever, trust an elected bureaucrat. Rail’s crushing monthly O&M costs are estimated between $20-50 million per month. Where is this money coming from?
– Raising fares to cover the full cost will not work, too expensive for riders.
– Make the GET permanent to cover this cost? Possible but the tax amount must be reduced to only cover rail. No extra money for our elected bureaucrats to waste on pet projects.
– Raising property taxes would provide a steady flow of money. Downside is what it does to our cost of living.
– Combination of fares and another money source is required. Only two choices there.
Rail’s subsidy must come from somewhere. Guess who will be hit with this cost? Can you say “Taxpayers.”
I’m so tired of these boring articles, nit-picking such boring theories as “voting records.” To the overwhelming number of informed voters, NOBODY CARES. What we DO care about, however, is how our money is being spent and how the city is being run.
And that, friends, is why Kirk Caldwell–a weak, incompetent, dishonest creep who has proven himself to be a disastrous mayor–is getting the boot in this election, whether it’s on Saturday or in November, preferably on Saturday.
Do traditional democrats or independents like myself find it odd that we’re voting for a republican legislator? Perhaps, and perhaps that would factor in larger if we were voting for a legislative position. But this is an administrative office, and party politics aside, I trust the tightwad, cost-cutting Cheap Charlie a hell of a lot more than that creepy red snake that has lied to us again, and again, and again about this rail project and blamed the entire world for his failures.
Get ready to join Neil, Kirk.
Well said!
Djou has this family’s vote and Kirk should start PACKING his bags. Those ads that Kirk run make me pissed off that people actually voted for this guy. He and MoFEE are the worst mayors this city has ever seen, incredible people vote for these same clowns.
All the phobia about property taxes is ridiculous. A huge percent of homes and condos in hawaii are second homes, and the city could tax just those without any changes to taxes on owner-occupants. They should have higher tax rates whether the revenues are used for rail or not. And as far as paying for rail, increasing the GET is the MOST regressive way to generate revenue. Raising property taxes on high-value second homes would be progressive and good policy.
“A huge percent of homes and condos in hawaii are second homes” After a quick look, I can’t find any authoritative information about the “huge percent.” I would be interested to see a link. Owner-occupied properties are taxed at $3.50 per $1000 assessed value. “Second homes” and investment properties are assessed at
I agree. people that own multiple properties are rich and should pay more taxes.
Second homes? LOL
He said he would not raise property taxes to build rail because “it’s paid for” with his plan. What he doesn’t mention is how much will the fares be, how short of the operating and maintenance costs will that be, and how does he plan to pay for that? Property taxes, of course. Ask him to pledge that he would not raise property taxes to operate and maintain the rail, and then we’ll talk about his promises.
And since there’s so much focus on that video of Kirk testifying before the state committee about property taxes, why not remove the campaign lenses, watch the entire video and see it for what it is. Kirk did NOT say he was “going to raise” raise property taxes. What he DID say was that IF the Legislature did NOT give him his GET tax extension for [insert amount of decades here], he would have to raise property taxes 30% to 40%.
Then, the Legislature asked him for his plan to fix the cost overruns and get the rail project back on track.
Then, Kirk said “uhhhhh…uhhhhhh…uhhhhhh…it’s not my fault. It’s [insert name of random agency here]’s fault.
Then, the Legislature told him to F-OFF.
Similarly, the FTA (feds) also asked Kirk for his plan to fix the mess and he gave a similar answer. OH WAIT…he didn’t even give an answer! No, he begged for more time, saying he’ll answer them AFTER the election.
Then, the FTA told him to F-OFF.
What does that mean? Kirk has NO PLAN to fix the rail mess, NO PLAN to get costs under control, NO PLAN to get things done on time and NO PLAN TO PAY FOR THE RAIL, OTHER THAN TO RAISE PROPERTY TAXES.
Kirk Caldwell is a dishonest creep with his back against the wall, unwilling to be honest and transparent with our citizens, unwilling to take responsibility for the mess he’s created and flailing around waiting for Dan Inouye to come back from the grave to save him. We need a LEADER who will open the books, be honest with us about what’s really going on and how bad the situation is, and then work with the best and brightest minds to figure out how the hell to get us out of this mess.
I don’t care what party that person comes from, what his “voting record” is or who might hang tea bags from where: If Charles Djou is going to be honest and straight with me then he MUST be our next mayor.
This is my money, my future, MY VOTE.
Let’s get it done, people. Get Djou to 50% + 1 vote on Saturday night.
YOTARE – you are the best! Love your comments and your descriptions!! I hope “tightwad, cost-cutting Cheap Charlie” gets the 50% + 1 on Saturday!
Cheap Charlie Djou is pennywise and pound foolish. All the billions, planning and years of effort expended on rail would be wasted, and we would end up with an incomplete and useless metro project. Djou cannot see beyond today. So easy for all of you to want to throw all of that away. Fools soon part with their money.
This morning I saw a new commercial with Kirk’s wife raving about her husband’s integrity and how he told her to go to Washington D.C. for her Clinton appointment to the FDIC and how their daughter Maya was only 4 at the time. Basically saying that’s the type of man he is where he allowed her to pursue her opportunity and also raised their daughter.
All I remember about their daughter is her smoking a bong and getting caught stealing his opponents signs in the last election. Most families teach their children to do what’s right and not to bring shame to the family. I guess he either didn’t teach that lesson or she “learned” from him otherwise.
The ad also forgot to mention how “Mayjah Rayjah” Maya graduated from burning buds and Ben signs with her bong to tooting China White and got kicked out of Tufts University. Not sure how much Kirk and Donna had to duke the dean but I guess they managed to buy her diploma.
I guess when you make almost $170k/year as mayor, $200k/year for a “part time” gig and your wife pulls in a cool $800k/year at her job, you can afford to bribe private university officials. Also explains how Maya could afford enough nose candy to get the boot from a school like Tufts. Maybe it shows my age, but in the 1990s, college sophomores generally couldn’t afford to party like Charlie Sheen.
If how the kid turned out is any indication of how our city will turn out after another four years of Kirk, it should be criminal to give this guy a second term.
YOTARE – Maya, raised by father, needs a lot more growing up. I was at a funeral and she was sleeping in the car. Daddy went to get her a few times but she never appeared. Very sad.
I was shocked to see THAT AD since a lot of people know that she is a brat, and fails as a decent citizen.
yotare, nothing but cheap shots against Maya, and the Caldwell family. You must be a Donald Tea Party fan.
Masami,you PRP?
People are comparing Kirk’s upcoming smashing defeat to Neil’s landslide loss to David Ige, and I’ve been thinking about what the differences will be between Mayor Djou’s first public press conference and Gov Ige’s first press conference, after opening up the books and seeing what was really going on.
IGE: “Mmmmm….Hmmmmm…Errrrr…I, I, I jus’ like ere’body play nice, ahh. Goin’ be OK, ahh? You guys like go lunch?”
DJOU: “Citizens of Oahu, we are up s*** creek. Here are the books. Here are the numbers. Here is how your money was spent. I cannot promise you things will be OK but I can tell you we will do everything we can and you will know exactly what we are doing from this day forward. Please allow me to now introduce the members of my new committee to address the crisis.”
It’s scary to think about, but at this point I think all the voters want is to know the truth about what’s going on and to hear a realistic approach to fixing things.
With trepidation but cautious hope, I shaded in the box next to “DJOU” on my ballot.
The BEST comment yet Yotare……well done!
The AJA’s aren’t going to get fooled this time by shady Kirk. Time for these old crooked futzies to just go away. Charles Djou is our man for the future. Gambare Charles!
Yes, a Republican. So is he voting for Hillary or Donald? Hmmm. Bet he “lockstep” with DONALD. To say he won’t vote is not American.
He’s been very clear that he is voting for or supporting Trump and he made that very clear before the convention.
Please stop lying about Charles Djou.
Republican Djou’s lies…
What lies?
Maybe he said “rail’s financial plan is solid” or “rail is already paid for.” Nope! Those are wiliki’s lies.
Maybe he said he’d “build rail better” and “bring it in on time and on budget” Nope! Those are Mr Caldwell’s lies.
Charles Djou doesn’t lie.
Its a non partisan race but our own democrats does not appear to telling the truth as many have pointed out. So……… is it time for Djou? We’ll wait and see on Saturday.
Funny,in the picture Djou is in your face with his “republican red” NOaloha shirt and Caldwell has democrat “blue”! Go Blue!
Caldwell is done. PRP must be scared as hardly as many attack adds on Djou. Something fishy happening.
PRP is waiting until it’s one on one if Djou doesn’t make 50+1. And it’s easier to spread a rumor just before the election so Djou won’t have enough time to debunk the lies.
Will it really make a difference who wins? Cant believe any of these people!
1-State Department releases emails tying Clinton to Foundation while Secretary of State. Pay for Play.
2-Iran Scientist executed. Clinton implicated
3-No comment on $400 million ransom payment.
4-Siddique Mateen endorses Crooked Hilliary Clinton.
5-Mayor of Fairfax, VA accused of meth for sex endorses Crooked Hilliary.
6-Parents of Benghazi killed file suit against Clinton for defamation,
If everyone here could agree on one person that would be the best Mayor for Honolulu, I will pay everyone $1 million. Go.
Those guys in the Aloha shirts are ready to_____!
Waihee, the most useless Governor in history, about the same as Obama as POTUS. Endorsing Caldwell did it for me. Djou all the way.