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Colleen Hanabusa is apparently something of a danger junkie. Why else would she go back working with Honolulu’s rail project?
Hanabusa was appointed to the board overseeing the rail project in June 2015 and soon was named chairwoman of the Honolulu
Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART). She stepped down in October of 2016 for a short return to Congress.
Hanabusa left Congress for an ill-fated campaign for governor.
While serving on the HART board, Hanabusa was one of the behind-the-scenes powers that helped remove Don Horner, former CEO for First Hawaiian Bank, as chairman of the rail board.
At the time, city officials were calling for the departure of both Horner and HART Executive Director/CEO Dan Grabauskas. Horner resigned, saying he hoped his departure would help rail. Grabauskas resigned shortly after with a retirement package put together by Hanabusa.
Now Hanabusa is back — but she is not in charge; she’s on the payroll.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported last week that Hanabusa was the only bidder on a contract worth $924,000 with HART.
The former state Senate president and Hawaii congresswoman will be a consultant to coordinate relations between the city, state and federal government regarding the rail project.
She will be paid $216,000 for the first 18 months, with a 7.7% increase in “Option Year 2”; and a second increase of 7.1% in the final year for an aggregate total of $924,000 over six years, according to a HART spokesman.
The Honolulu rail’s track record has been grim. In
15 years, the estimated budget has gone from $2.5 billion to $11 billion, with interim CEO Lori Kahikina projecting that the train is also carrying a $3 billion deficit. It is also more than 10 years behind schedule.
Hanabusa’s value, apparently, is in her contact list and ability to get rail’s enemies to listen to her.
In the Legislature, Hana-
busa enjoys good relations with both House Speaker Scott Saiki and House Finance chairwoman, Sylvia Luke. Former Mayor Kirk Caldwell was a nonstarter at the Legislature and could not advance the cause of rail in front of Saiki and Luke.
Also, Hanabusa knows her way around the federal legislation helping to fund rail. Hanabusa in a written statement said she has unique qualifications to be HART’s consultant, saying she has “a working relationship with the City Council, State Legislature and able to interface with the HART’s Federal Consultant.”
“The public wants answers. I believe the institutional knowledge that I bring to the Board will assist it in understanding what is necessary to win the confidence back. We must never forget, this project is being built with taxpayers’ money and we all have a duty to ensure that the funds are spent wisely and carefully,” Hanabusa said.
The only thing left out of her resume is a long history as a blindfolded fire knife dancer, which in her new job consulting on the Honolulu rail job might be essential.
Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays. Reach him at 808onpolitics@gmail.com.
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