Rail system must reach Ala Moana, Djou acknowledges

Both remaining candidates for Honolulu mayor are now on the same page, saying the city must build an elevated rail line all the way to Ala Moana Center.

Former U.S. Rep. Charles Djou, who is challenging Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s re-election bid, said Wednesday that the message federal transit officials gave to the city this week requires him to back off his position to seek alternatives to heavy rail to get from Middle Street to Ala Moana.

“We have to do rail, we have to take it to Ala Moana,” Djou said. “It has to be elevated, and it has to be heavy rail, period.”

Caldwell and Council Chairman Ernie Martin said Tuesday that Federal Transit Administration leaders are firm that the rail line needs to be constructed to Ala Moana or the city may be in breach of an agreement that gave the city up to $1.55 billion in federal dollars. Also, city leaders were unsuccessful in their attempts to get the FTA to provide more funding to make up a shortfall of up to $2 billion.

Djou’s message through the first three months of the campaign had been that rather than commit to building elevated rail to Ala Moana as supported by Caldwell and former Mayor Peter Carlisle, the city should explore every option from a bus rapid transit system to putting the line at ground level through Kalihi.

But on Wednesday, Djou said he is now willing to consider asking the state Legislature for an extension of Oahu’s 0.5 percent surcharge on the general excise tax — but only if, as mayor, he determines the city has no other alternative.

“So the question is not about what alternatives there are to rail. The question here is: Who do you trust to fix this bad system — the guy who created the mess, or do you think we need new management after the current management screwed it all up?”

While Caldwell, Martin and others want the Legislature to consider extending the excise tax surcharge in the upcoming session, Djou said he may or may not join them.

Djou’s shift on rail follows meetings held this week in San Francisco, during which local and federal transportation leaders discussed the project’s future. It also comes as momentum builds among project proponents to ask state lawmakers for more funding help.

On Wednesday, Councilman Brandon Elefante introduced a resolution for the City Council to support “continued efforts … to obtain a permanent GET surcharge of 0.5 percent” for rail.

Elefante’s proposal comes as some state lawmakers have signaled it will be difficult to secure a second GET extension for rail next year, after project leaders told them the five-year extension they approved in 2015 would likely be enough.

Elefante had introduced a similar resolution in 2015 supporting the GET surcharge, but the Council never considered it. It remains to be seen whether the Council will weigh his latest resolution. Martin now intends to join Caldwell at the Legislature to seek an extension because the FTA left the city no other choice, he said.

Meanwhile, a key legislator says he’d like FTA leaders to travel to Oahu and explain directly to state lawmakers — and the public — the transit agency’s position on rail.

“We need to hear it directly from the source” — instead of from local rail leaders after they meet with the FTA privately on the mainland, House Majority Leader Scott Saiki said Wednesday. State legislators likely won’t make any further decisions on rail until they have such a meeting, Saiki said.

Specifically, Saiki said he’d like the FTA to clarify whether it expects the city to rely on the state for help, or whether it’s open to the city using other funding options instead.

Djou said the city needs to look harder at securing public-private partnerships with developers and landowners to assist in financing the project, something Caldwell said he has tried to do.

“As a last resort, after we’ve exhausted all these possibilities and we’ve rebuilt trust with the city, then, and only then, do we go back and we ask to take more money from the people,” Djou said.

In April, city Auditor Edwin Young released an audit of HART that concluded the agency needed to plan better and improve its financial management, project management and contract management. Djou, however, said he wants one done “in the same fashion” as a 2010 state audit on the agency.

Djou, a former councilman, said that even if others go to the Legislature in January to lobby for more dollars, it’s very likely he would not join them — but he did not rule it out.

Rail leaders have said they hope to make a case to the Legislature next year before having to deliver a recovery plan to the FTA. Caldwell has said that’s a key reason the city is asking for more time to submit the plan.

Senate Ways and Means Chairwoman Jill Tokuda and House Finance Chairwoman Sylvia Luke said Tuesday it may be wise for city officials to wait a year to get its rail funding plan in order before asking for a surcharge extension.

Caldwell’s re-election campaign, in response to Djou’s new position, said the mayor remains committed to building rail from East Kapolei to Ala Moana with all 20 miles and 21 stations as promised to the FTA.

“As for Charles Djou, it seems he finally understands the absurdity of all of this so-called ‘transit alternatives,’ though it should have only required common sense and not a statement from the FTA,” the campaign said in a statement.