Richard Borreca: Oahu’s mayoral race and rail problems obscured by coronavirus crisis

Somewhere out there under the fog of COVID-19 and orders to not leave home without a mask, there is a contest for who will lead Honolulu for the next four years.

The race for mayor has lured a slew of candidates, but interestingly, only two of the major candidates have staked positions on Honolulu’s No. 1 issue: rail.

Streets are pothole-filled obstacle courses, the homeless are a wretched dilemma and city-sponsored opportunities for both the young and old seem to shrink each year — but paying for the construction, operation and maintenance of the yet-to-be completed $9 billion project is still Honolulu’s Job 1.

Of the contestants, Councilwoman Kymberly Pine, representing the Leeward Coast, is one of the strongest supporters. As long back as 2016, Pine was “a staunch supporter of completing the full 20 miles of the rail project and often advocates in public for the cash-strapped elevated transit line,” according to a Honolulu Star-Advertiser report.

On the other side, real estate broker Choon James is probably the strongest critic. Back in 2018, during an unsuccessful run for the City Council, James said of rail: “When will the oligarchy stop this fiscal insanity and reassess this runaway project?” Perennial candidate John Carroll has also voiced his opposition to the rail project.

Local businessman Keith Amemiya takes a benign view of rail, ignoring opponents’ claims of an economic and planning nightmare, saying in a Civil Beat report that “he supports building the rail project to Ala Moana and wants to use technology to solve problems including traffic, climate change and police response times.” Amemiya told KITV News he thought “more transit-oriented development will help stimulate the economy, but wants to relieve the burden the rail project has been having on taxpayer dollars.”

That leaves former broadcast executive Rick Blangiardi and former Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa, both coming into the race somewhat supportive, but packing major skepticism of the costs and construction of rail.

Blangiardi, who knows his way around spreadsheets and profit-and-loss statements, says on his web page he wants to see the numbers. “I don’t have access to the internal documentation needed for the kind of honest and frank dialogue about rail I would prefer. Most critically, we don’t know what the true cost of rail will be.

“If it’s going to cost $2 billion more than HART and the city are currently saying — and frankly I think it probably will — then let’s get the real number on the table, and figure out what to do about it.”

Hanabusa brings an attorney’s legal view to the case, plus the experience of once serving as chairwoman of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation’s board of directors. She says she understands rail history and the reasons given for the cost overruns.

“Enough is enough. Honolulu residents deserve to have the rail finished on time and on budget,” Hanabusa said on her campaign web page.

If elected, Hanabusa said, she sees herself as mayor and her appointees being a force guiding rail.

For both Hanabusa and Blangiardi, rail is seen as inevitable — but in their eyes, getting rail from half-built to a call for “all aboard” is not going to be a pleasant or easy journey.

Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays. Reach him at 808onpolitics@gmail.com.