Nonpartisan Race
Daniel Cunningham
Age: 56
Job: Unlicensed doctor
Past: Doctor’s license revoked for the medical discovery to extend life indefinitely
What qualifies you to be Honolulu’s mayor?
Good ideas and determination.
My doctor’s license was revoked for an inexpensive “in vivo” stem cell therapy in 1996. I got the Free Energy Party on the ballot in 2002 and I have repeatedly run for mayor and governor since.
I have also been on KITV television over a “house in Kalihi” for the homeless and ‘Olelo Channel 54 to put the U.S. Navy on the grid and a 21st-century “Noah’s Ark” built with steel and reinforced glass and plastic. The result is an accountable government that pays the citizen, cleans the planet of mercury poisoning, and is infinitely energy independent.
If elected, will you proceed with the city’s planned rail transit project?
No, rather, a rail in a floating capacity to industry and real estate at Keehi Lagoon via the confluence of the freeways, airport and city. Such a rail for transitioning large populations of people into a floating existence by building a mega-pool cleaner would have a joint mushroom effect upon the economy given access to nuclear. Electric vehicles that don’t break down would best be privately owned without insurance necessity.
Nuclear affords the capability to boil every drop of water on this planet an unlimited number of times and is 3 million times as efficient as coal.
Under what circumstances would you consider raising city taxes or fees?
Under no circumstance. The power to tax is the power to destroy. Why not a floating government that provides, protects and segregates. A $10/hour job on decommissioned nuclear aircraft carriers converted to steel mill/recycle centers for prisoners is a secure tax base until obsolescence. The best rehab is a good job with a future. So far government is a dismal failure. It does not recycle half what to speak of mercury-laidened light bulbs.
In a floating capacity government efficiency is improved 1,000 percent and truly becomes a tool of the people.
What can the mayor do to address the homeless problem on Oahu?
Provide an effective structure by which function will inevitably occur. Decommissioned Navy ships integrated with a diversified dock system built with recycled materials would serve as the scaffolding for the mega-pool cleaner and interim living facilities for the needy as well as a job market.
Our education is an inheritance. “Inherit the Kingdom at hand having been prepared for you from the beginning of the world.” Matt 25:34. If the Bible is relevant “heaven” somewhere else is a Babylonian myth. Why not create infinite wealth and change through progress? Change is the only universal constant.
What can the city do to help residents cope with rising prices and an ailing economy?
Edmund Rothchild stated that if he controls the currency man can make whatever laws he likes but Rothchild will determine their destiny. There is an alternative to a privately owned fiat money system.
A floating desalinisation plutonium economy provides a limitless source of power for a stable economy. Money is power only to the extent of confidence in the paper itself which has no intrinsic value. Electricity as power has intrinsic value in the performance of work. As the cost of electricity goes down into oblivion so does the necessity for money.
Cameron Datanagan
Age: 39
Job: United Parcel Service delivery driver
What qualifies you to be Honolulu’s mayor?
I love Honolulu, and I will work hard to serve the people of Honolulu.
I also live in the City and County of Honolulu.
If elected, will you proceed with the city’s planned rail transit project?
I will leave it up to the people to decide.
Under what circumstances would you consider raising city taxes or fees?
If we need it to fill an emergency situation, then I would consider it.
What can the mayor do to address the homeless problem on Oahu?
I would personally walk in a homeless person’s shoes for a week and become in touch with a homeless person’s challenges. I serve lunch to homeless families and find that most are not hopeless.
What can the city do to help residents cope with rising prices and an ailing economy?
I have no immediate plans on that issue, but I will be researching more tomorrow.
Mufi Hannemann
Age: 54
Job: Honolulu mayor
Past: City Council chairman; director, DBEDT; corporate executive, White House fellow
What qualifies you to be Honolulu’s mayor?
First, my on-the-job experience as mayor, during which we tackled a grossly neglected infrastructure, cleaned up parks, repaired roads and planned for mass transit solutions. We helped preserve Waimea Valley and Pupukea, instituted numerous recycling initiatives, helped revitalize Chinatown and Waikiki, and are transforming Kapolei into a great city. We have overseen improvements to our public safety departments, making Honolulu the safest big city in America, and improved our bond rating while receiving two “clean audits.” Secondly, my experience as the City Council chairman, in state government and the private sector, service under four presidents, and leadership position with the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
If elected, will you proceed with the city’s planned rail transit project?
Yes. A fixed-guideway mass transit system featuring steel wheel on rail technology, as selected by an outside panel of experts, will be the centerpiece of a multi-modal transportation system. More bikeways, more pedestrian walkways, new park and rides, the ferry and a hybrid-powered bus system with multiple transit centers, will all integrate into the fixed-guideway system giving our residents transportation options in a time of increasing fuel and parking costs, not to mention escalating gridlock.
Under what circumstances would you consider raising city taxes or fees?
I was willing to ask the Council to increase sewer fees to finance the tremendous backlog of sewer system repairs that are not only required by the EPA and federal court, but are essential to protect Oahu from future spills that could occur anywhere, at any time, endangering us all. If those fees had been gradually raised as planned over the past 10 years, we would not be playing catch-up. Circumstances where public health and/or safety are at stake, as with our sewer system, do not allow for political posturing.
What can the mayor do to address the homeless problem on Oahu?
The responsibility and resources for addressing issues like housing, homelessness, poverty, drug addiction and mental health belong to the state government. We have leveraged the city’s limited resources to help nonprofit organizations establish homeless resource centers in three communities and developed a work readiness program to assist those considered “chronically homeless” through Oahu WorkLinks, the city’s one-stop employment center. We are establishing a rental assistance program for homeless people interested in seeking employment, and are building a 100-unit rental housing project for the homeless with severe mental illness.
What can the city do to help residents cope with rising prices and an ailing economy?
If a mass transit system had been begun in the mid-’90s, Oahu would have avoided the pain of the economic slowdown in Hawaii during that decade. The sooner we begin construction of our multi-modal system, the cheaper it will be and millions of dollars will flow into the economy and thousands of jobs created at all levels. This includes private sector development near stations. In a period of declining real property values nationwide, I can only point to the fact that in Charlotte, N.C., property values are soaring along a new rail system that is also experiencing vastly exceeded ridership expectations.
Ann Kobayashi
Age: 71
Job: Honolulu City Council member
Past: State legislator
What qualifies you to be Honolulu’s mayor?
My primary goal in elected office has always been to improve the quality of life for the residents of our island community. I served as a state senator for 14 years and six years as a member of the City Council. I have acquired a broad-based knowledge of government operations. I believe this is vitally important to the vision and skills required of an effective leader. I have been a constant advocate for our elderly, Oahu’s keiki and the disadvantaged in our community. As mayor, I will continue my commitment … to improve the quality of life for our residents.
If elected, will you proceed with the city’s planned rail transit project?
I also remain firm in my support of the right of our residents to have the opportunity to vote on this important issue that will affect everyone financially today and in the future.
Under what circumstances would you consider raising city taxes or fees?
As mayor and as a taxpayer, I would propose a fiscally responsible city budget. The only circumstances that would warrant an increase in taxes or fees are those in which public health and safety might be compromised.
What can the mayor do to address the homeless problem on Oahu?
The mayor can work with state and federal agencies, nonprofits and private industries to assist in obtaining the tools and resources to provide assistance to the homeless community, such as job training and mental health care.
What can the city do to help residents cope with rising prices and an ailing economy?
The city has to work within a fiscally responsible budget and still maintain the core city services. In hard economic times we need to establish priorities on what is nice to have and what is necessary to keep our city vibrant. The city should look at ways in which to operate an efficient government while providing the necessary services for our residents.
J. Stop-Rail-Transit Maly
Age: 69
Job: Emeritus professor
What qualifies you to be Honolulu’s mayor?
I am qualified by education (doctorate in education administration), by leadership experience on various statewide and national boards, and by being a longtime resident and political observer. As a trained scientist with no political baggage, I would be able to make truly objective decisions about city programs and projects.
If elected, will you proceed with the city’s planned rail transit project?
I think my name says it all. I had my name legally changed in order that the words “Stop Rail Transit” would be on the ballot. It is simply too expensive, and it will not solve the traffic problems.
Under what circumstances would you consider raising city taxes or fees?
Without the planned rail system and with some shrinking of city government, there should be no need to raise taxes.
What can the mayor do to address the homeless problem on Oahu?
The homeless problem is not totally a local one. Solutions might come from better coordination with state and federal agencies and nongovernmental groups.
What can the city do to help residents cope with rising prices and an ailing economy?
Many of the economic problems are global in nature and the solutions need to be found beyond the city. However, history has shown that reducing taxes has improved the economy. At the federal level, we all got rebate checks to spur the economy. Not collecting those taxes in the first place should have the same effect, even at the city level.
George Nitta Jr.
Age: 65
Job: Nitta’s Auto Repair owner
Past: Hawaii Community Development Authority board, neighborhood board chairman (Kakaako)
What qualifies you to be Honolulu’s mayor?
I care about the people of Honolulu. We need someone in office that will take care of the elderly, not forget about them. I’ve been an independent business owner for 43 years, and my position is that I would run the city like a business. Balancing budgets and generating revenue for the city is much like running a business.
If elected, will you proceed with the city’s planned rail transit project?
No.
Under what circumstances would you consider raising city taxes or fees?
I would consider raising taxes in the event of a major shortfall (i.e. mandated sewer improvements, major disasters, etc.) on a temporary basis only.
What can the mayor do to address the homeless problem on Oahu?
As Honolulu’s mayor, I would ensure that the new developments in Honolulu provide the 15 percent affordable housing that is already an existing rule of the HCDA. This will make more affordable housing available to the population, and will decrease some of the homeless issues in Honolulu. I would not allow developers to pay out the 15 percent, thereby ensuring that there will be affordable housing available.
What can the city do to help residents cope with rising prices and an ailing economy?
I would push for ethanol fuel for automobiles that will lower gas costs. Lower gas costs will eventually mean lower overhead charges for farms, food and cost of transportation. I would also promote more international golf and bowling tournaments in Honolulu, as well as a Waikiki Grand Prix race that would increase tourism and generate revenue for Honolulu.
Panos Prevedouros
Age: 46
Job: Professor of civil engineering, UH-Manoa
Past: On Oahu since 1990; international expert in transportation engineering
What qualifies you to be Honolulu’s mayor?
An engineer is the perfect mayoral choice because Oahu’s problems are virtually all civil engineering problems: terrible traffic congestion, aging sewers, deteriorating water pipes, dilapidated bridges and highways and potholes abound. One in five Fortune 500 companies has an engineer at the helm. Tucson, Ariz., has a mayor who is an engineer. He is great. And so was Honolulu’s very own John Wilson, a civil engineer and Honolulu’s mayor for over 18 years. Professor Prevedouros has lived on Oahu for 19 years and has been involved with all levels of government on various policy and infrastructure issues.
If elected, will you proceed with the city’s planned rail transit project?
A fully elevated rail system with over 30 stations and 30 miles with a cost of well over $6 billion is simply a preposterous proposal for our city. None of the federal monies will come to Oahu. All of it will buy rails and trains to be shipped to Oahu. Rail will be a black hole of new and heavy taxes. Traffic congestion with rail in 2030 will be far worse than it is today. Oahu’s footprint will get worse. I will terminate the rail program immediately — $5 billion of savings in local taxes is a good thing.
Under what circumstances would you consider raising city taxes or fees?
Raising Honolulu’s taxes and fees is not the answer. Under Hannemann the city budget has ballooned by 46 percent to date. The taxing and spending must end. I will recommend to the Legislature to sunset the excise tax increase by 2012 and provide the mechanisms for Oahu to use the monies collected for real traffic congestion solutions. I will work with the City Council to budget what is most necessary. Tough economic times are coming toward us faster than most people realize. We must do more with less. My strength and experience is in optimization. When systems are optimized, savings are realized.
What can the mayor do to address the homeless problem on Oahu?
In the last four years homeless have been chased away from city parks in driving rain, forcing churches and good Samaritans to shelter them. The homeless are individuals with individual needs. The better we understand these needs, the more we can help them. We also must recognize that Oahu’s valuable parks are essential for healthy family recreation, and their ongoing necessary care is made difficult by homeless conditions growing out of control. Children cannot play near trees where people relieve themselves indiscriminately. The city must coordinate closely with the state to provide help, rehabilitation and medical opportunities for those in need.
What can the city do to help residents cope with rising prices and an ailing economy?
Costs escalate higher because of government bloating coupled with inaction and high tax rates passed on to the consumer. Congestion, solid-waste disposal and overall substandard road conditions have been festering and increasing on Oahu because of inaction on available solutions. There must be a balance between government size and population. There must be a balance between regulation and market economics. Large delays and arbitrary decisions in permitting have huge impacts on Oahu’s struggling businesses. Judicious regulation and government streamlining is a wise approach to provide needed relief and lower the financial burden on our citizens in these economic times.
DID NOT RESPOND
Donavon Kambel Jr., Paul Manner
WITHDRAWN
Jim Brewer
