With the Honolulu City Council District 4 special election one week away, candidate Trevor Ozawa is taking opponent Tommy Waters to task for declining to participate in four different forums and debates.
“It’s very disingenuous to claim that your duty is to the people of District 4 when you refuse to give voters the chance to compare each candidate in a head-to-head exchange,” Ozawa said in a statement.
Waters, in his own statement, said he had scheduling conflicts with three of those scheduled forums and debates and did not receive an invitation to the fourth. He noted that Ozawa missed a fifth gathering.
The four events Waters did not attend: a Hawaii News Now “Sunrise Debate” on April 2, a Hawaii Public Radio debate on March 29, a Mercury Business Association Forum on March 25 and a Rotary Club of Waikiki “Talk Story” on March 20.
“Real leadership and integrity mean holding yourself accountable and being transparent with the people you are asking to serve,” Ozawa said.
Waters said he never got an invitation to the Rotary event and had scheduling conflicts for the other three.
He pointed out that he and Ozawa both took part in a live “Insights” at PBS
Hawai‘i candidate forum March 14.
Waters said both candidates had agreed to a Kaimuki Neighborhood Board community forum on March 20 but that Ozawa pulled out at the last minute.
A spokeswoman for Ozawa said he never agreed to attend the March 20 date due to a scheduling conflict, but provided three possible dates in April that Waters said he was unavailable for.
Results of the November general election showing Ozawa winning by 22 votes were invalidated by the Hawaii Supreme Court in January, triggering a new election.
April 13 is Election Day, but all 66,000-plus registered voters in the East Honolulu district were mailed ballots. As of 4 p.m. Friday, 26,260 people had mailed in their ballots, and 208 had voted in person at Honolulu Hale. In-person voting will continue at City Hall from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day through Friday except Sunday. On Election Day the Honolulu Hale voting site will be open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
