Editorials
Tuesday, September 17, 1996
Jeremy Harris
is best bet for mayor
JEREMY Harris worked as city managing director under former Honolulu Mayor Frank Fasi and became acting mayor when Fasi resigned to run for governor in 1994. Harris was elected mayor in the special election called to fill Fasi's seat. Now Harris is seeking a full four-year term. In the Star-Bulletin's opinion, he should be re-elected Saturday.
As mayor, Harris has been forced to grapple with fiscal problems caused by the state economic recession, which has produced a dip in real property values. He has reduced the city's work force through attrition and a hiring freeze without impairing city services, a major achievement.
He has introduced automated refuse collection through much of the city with a minimum of disruption or controversy. He instituted a program of more frequent cleaning of the streets of Chinatown to improve the appearance of this important district. He launched a speeded-up process for issuing building permits to facilitate construction projects.
He has gotten rid of the T-shirt vendors who were crowding the sidewalks of Kalakaua Avenue and blighting this vital tourist district. He has established a city store as a source of revenue and an alternative to raising taxes.
Faced with a sharp increase in crime at the same time that the police force was depleted by a state-initiated early retirement program, he lobbied the Legislature for more prison space to end the "revolving door" of arrest, conviction and release while providing the Police Department with the resources to replenish its ranks in a responsible manner. His administration is planning further expansion of the bus system, which is already recognized as one of the nation's finest.
Throughout, Harris has demonstrated a calm competence and a willingness to pitch in personally wherever and whenever needed. His is a no-nonsense administration that emphasizes results, not personal fireworks.
Frank Fasi was Harris' boss for eight years and now claims that Harris is stealing credit for programs that Fasi began. Obviously there is some carryover from Harris' work as managing director under Fasi to his performance as mayor, but Harris has retracted his claim of credit in one instance. However, Harris also deserves some credit for the achievements of the Fasi administration when he was No. 2.
Fasi doesn't know when it's time to quit. During his 22 years as mayor, he made many improvements. He will be remembered as one of Honolulu's most capable and imaginative chief executives. Unfortunately his record was marred by ethically and legally questionable incidents and almost constant squabbling with the City Council and the state administration.
He hit a low point in his campaign for governor two years ago, and his tactics this time aren't much better. Fasi's time has come and gone. He should never have entered this race and may end up playing the role of spoiler.
The other major candidate for mayor, Arnold Morgado, has experience in the state Legislature and on the City Council plus the support of Governor Cayetano. While on the Council, he was primarily responsible for the establishment of the Honolulu Public Transit Authority, which added unnecessarily to government bureaucracy. He also led the battle against rail transit, setting back the solution to Honolulu's traffic problems.
His call for accelerated recruitment of police officers to deal with the crime problem, rather than Harris' bid for more prison space, has been rejected by Police Chief Michael Nakamura, who ought to know what he needs.
Morgado's claims of mismanagement of the city by Harris have failed to take hold, and his proposals for improvement are vague. His campaign commercials blatantly emphasize his local and racial origins, to the point of being distasteful. The voters should reject this attempt to reduce the contest to local versus mainlander.
As we see it, Jeremy Harris is clearly the best of the three candidates.
Trouble in Haiti
THE Clinton administration has dispatched security agents to Haiti to help protect President Rene Preval. The need for such an operation raises doubts about the success of the U.S. military intervention two years ago to assist in the building of a stable democracy there.
Now in apparent retirement, former President Bertrand Aristide might be plotting a return to power. The suspicion that members of the security unit that he selected were involved in politically motivated killings could reflect on this beneficiary of the United States' support - and on the wisdom of President Clinton's decision to become so deeply involved in Haiti.
Published by Liberty Newspapers Limited Partnership
Rupert E. Phillips, CEO
John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher
David Shapiro, Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor