Former Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann joined Spotlight Hawaii today to talk about his bid to get his old job back.

Hannemann, who is the president of the Hawaii Tourism and Lodging Association, says the state needs to welcome visitors back no later than August, or face even greater economic peril.

He says government overall needs to do a better job of communicating its plans and timelines with the business community, to minimize uncertainty and allow the private sector to plan.

“Businesses, people, they’re all about planning and that has been kind of a herky, jerky situation. I don’t think we can afford to remain closed beyond August going into September. It’s gonna be major catastrophe economically if we are going to be shut down through September,” he said.

Hannemann took questions on affordable housing, rail and homelessness.

On the lighter side, he opened up about his favorite politician, his hidden talent, and even sang a sample of his favorite karaoke song.

Hannemann emphasized that experience is what counts in this election.

“These are times of crisis. Unprecedented. This is no time for on the job training,” Hannemann said, “I pose this question to you: if you were facing a life-threatening procedure, you had to be on that operating table, would you take a chance with an intern? Or would you go with an experienced surgeon? I think that’s what it really comes down to.”

Watch the full interview above or on the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s Facebook page.

Spotlight Hawaii, which shines a light on issues affecting Hawaii, airs live 10:30 a.m. every Monday and Wednesday on the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s Facebook page. This month, Yunji de Nies and Ryan Kalei Tsuji conduct one-on-one interviews with Honolulu mayoral candidates. Here is the lineup:

July 6 – Colleen Hanabusa

July 8 – Mufi Hannemann

July 13 – Rick Blangiardi

July 15 – Choon James

July 20 – Keith Amemiya

July 22 – Kym Pine