I question whether Honolulu’s mayor is serving the best interests of the residents of the city.

The timing of his plan to gentrify Ala Moana Regional Park is a case in point. Ignored and neglected for years, the park suddenly became a priority when the rich and transient rich began occupying Kakaako. The park will host a playground that a developer will build not on his land but on a public space, burdening taxpayers with maintenance and liability.

Then, there is the partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to protect the transients in Waikiki while wreaking havoc in Manoa and Palolo valleys, where voters live.

Finally, he lionizes Cokie Roberts (“Cokie Roberts brought reason to political chaos,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, Sept. 19), the very reporter who castigated President Barack Obama for vacationing in Hawaii, saying it was “some foreign, exotic place.”

The mayor was once a person who listened to his constituents. Now it appears he can only listen to those who see Hawaii residents as foreigners and he can only accommodate campaign donors. I miss the legislator. He is lost to us; perhaps, forever.

Diantha Goo

Manoa

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