Menor might become new City Council chairman

Honolulu City Council Chairman Ernie Martin is expected to lose his leadership gavel to Councilman Ron Menor in the new year under a reorganization plan expected to garner the support of a majority of the nine-member panel.

Menor unveiled the new leadership in an email to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Sunday night in response to questions about a possible reorganization. Under the proposal, Council Vice Chairman Ikaika Anderson would retain his seat while Councilwoman Kymberly Pine would be majority floor leader, replacing Menor.

Martin has been chairman since June 2011. The heads of the two most powerful Council committees — Budget Chairwoman Ann Kobayashi and Zoning Chairman Trevor Ozawa — are also expected to lose their posts under the reorganization, although it’s not clear who would lead which committees.

Menor said he will be joined by Anderson, Pine and Joey Manahan “very shortly” in introducing a resolution outlining the plan. A vote on the resolution is expected to be held Jan. 3 during the first Council meeting of the year.

The four “have not discussed this resolution with other Council members because of our desire to comply with the Sunshine Law,” Menor said. While not mentioned in the plan, Councilman Brandon Elefante is expected to support a reorganization, and others might as well.

A new leadership structure with Menor at the helm is expected to be friendlier to newly re-elected Mayor Kirk Caldwell, who has had a contentious relationship with Martin, Kobayashi and Ozawa, and make it easier for him to advance his political platform.

Menor said the Council under his leadership can be expected to act independently and not be a “rubber stamp” for Caldwell. However, he said he would like to “promote a low-key leadership style with an emphasis on collaboration.”

He added, “My colleagues and I … believe that the legislative and executive branches must work together if we are to address the critical issues facing our island.”

A reorganization likely would not affect the way city leaders tackle the biggest issue at City Hall today: the increasingly costly rail project. All nine Council members voted to approve a resolution supporting Caldwell’s plan to lobby the state Legislature for an extension of Oahu’s 0.5 percent surcharge on the state general excise tax.

Anderson, Elefante and Pine declined to speak about any possible shuffling specifically, while Manahan could not be reached.

Martin, when asked about possible leadership changes Friday, said in an email that “it is an honor and a privilege to serve as the chair and presiding officer of the Honolulu City Council,” adding, “I look forward to all discussions and debates in the New Year and working with my colleagues and the administration to build a better Honolulu.”

During this year’s mayoral campaign, Martin and Kobayashi came out early in support of challenger Charles Djou, and Ozawa later joined them. The three have been Caldwell’s loudest critics the past two years.

Anderson, Elefante and Pine backed Caldwell from early in the mayoral campaign. They later appeared alongside Manahan and Menor in a two-page Caldwell campaign advertisement in the Star-Advertiser during the closing weeks of the campaign, leading to speculation that a new majority might form that would replace Martin and those who supported Djou.

Earlier this month Anderson introduced Resolution 16-310, which calls for the Council chairman to be stripped of the authority to decide committee leaders and rosters, and leaving such decisions to a vote of all Council members.

Anderson, in an interview Wednesday, said Martin’s decision to remove him as zoning chairman five months ago did not factor into his decision to introduce that resolution.

“I believe that the committee assignment process needs transparency,” he said. He said he has had a long-standing belief, from before the time Martin became Council chairman, that decisions about committee assignments should be discussed and voted upon by all Council members, not subject to unilateral action by the chairman.