Mufi feels betrayed
by ex-allies

'Other agendas came into play
both from within (his majority)
and externally'

By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Star-Bulletin

Like him or not, those who know Mufi Hannemann agree: He demands a lot of himself and those around him.

Those high expectations lead to Hannemann's successes -- and his failures.

Following this past November's elections, his position as City Council chairman seemed impregnable with six of his eight colleagues backing him.

On Monday, however, the 44-year-old Hannemann is expected to formally lose his chairmanship after a bitter bout with Mayor Jeremy Harris and colleagues over next year's budget.

"He's courageous, energetic and fearless, and that gets him in trouble," said J.W.A. "Doc" Buyers, chief executive officer of C. Brewer & Co. and the man Hannemann calls "my business mentor."

Losing the chairmanship hurt him, Hannemann said, because he feels betrayed by some who were in his majority whom he helped re-elect.

"If that can be perceived as his fault, that's his fault," said Vice Chairman John Henry Felix. "He is almost naive when it comes to his highly principled self. Integrity, character and loyalty are uppermost in his code of ethics."

Hannemann said: "I felt very much taken advantage of. Obviously, other agendas came into play both from within those individuals and externally. I have a hard time dealing with people who don't tell the truth. I admit that. We were raised in a home where my father was a Mormon bishop -- we told the truth."

Belied Samoan stereotypes

The son of immigrants from American Samoa, Hannemann was raised in Kalihi.

Councilwoman Donna Mercado Kim's family lived next door to the Hannemanns at Canario Court.

"He was sharp, bright and did well in all arenas," Kim said. "He wanted to show that stereotypes about Samoans are not true."

And he did.

After outstanding years at Iolani and Harvard, he was a Fulbright Scholar, an aide to Gov. George Ariyoshi and then worked in the U.S. Department of Interior's Office of Territories and International Affairs. He spent a year as a White House fellow under then-Vice President George Bush, working on policy briefings and as an advance man.

That followed with a five-year stint as an executive for C. Brewer and Co. After two unsuccessful bids for congressional seats, against Pat Saiki and then Patsy Mink, he joined then-Gov. John Waihee's Cabinet as director of the Office of International Relations in 1991. Just over a year later, Waihee named Hannemann his director of the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

If there's one thing that drives Hannemann, everyone agrees, it's his motivation to be involved in government.

"I think the one constant has been public service," Hannemann said. "I always felt that one day I would lead a life of public service."

'Very blunt and very candid'

In 1994, Hannemann won his first elected post representing the Council district encompassing Aiea, Pearl City and parts of Waipahu.

He won a reputation for being aggressive and sometimes combative.

"I'm very blunt, and I'm very candid and I speak my mind, and when I feel I'm being wronged, I'll let you know it," he said. "Maybe that's my other fault."

In the most visible of the blow-ups with Harris in recent weeks, Hannemann said he took great insult in being called "abusive" to the mayor's Cabinet members.

Hannemann thinks of himself as "misunderstood," that his passion, focus and aggressiveness often are portrayed as bullying.

"If it's intimidation, it's not by force; it's by the fact that I have very strongly held convictions and I'll argue them -- passionately," Hannemann said, stressing that he has not used vulgarity or threat of physical force, he said.

Those making up the new majority say the last straw came when Hannemann and Budget Chairman John Henry Felix held a joint news conference May 3 to announce preliminary budget proposals without their knowledge.

Councilman Duke Bainum, at the time, called the move an insult to the others.

Councilman Steve Holmes, who has been at odds with Hannemann for several years, noted that previous Council chairmen would try to subjugate their own pet issues to appear neutral.

"He made pronouncements on behalf of the Council, and (other members) weren't comfortable with that," Holmes said. "It's fine to be tough, but the role of the chair is a little different than anybody else."

A year ago, Hannemann questioned funding for Haiku Stairs, long a favorite project of Holmes. Eventually the funding was restored after some public outcry, Holmes said, but he is still miffed by that episode.

"It seemed like they were trying to jerk my chain," he said. "I really don't mind the personal attacks, but when people raid projects in my district that represent the hopes and dreams of my community for personal reasons, then I get a sense of indignation."

Hannemann said he's been the one to clear logjams on the Council, noting that he brokered agreements on a smoking ban, fees at Hanauma Bay and other issues.

It was a year ago this week that Hannemann, with four other colleagues, toppled the leadership of Chairman John DeSoto. That dispute was also over the budget. Hannemann persuaded Harris not to slash positions in exchange for supporting the rest of his reorganization plan.

Hannemann said it's Harris and colleagues opposing his leadership who have sold out on the idea of reforming government.

"It was just window dressing," Hannemann said. "It was a nice buzzword to say we have reorganized and streamlined government, but when we looked beneath the surface, that did not take place."

Annette Yamaguchi, chairwoman of the Waipahu Neighborhood Board, said about Hannemann, "He's done more for our community, worked harder and diligently than any other Council member we've had to date."

Even when Hannemann began threatening to cut programs her community-based visioning team had focused on, "he just wanted the administration to be accountable about where the $2 million comes from when the city is in such pain."

Congressional ambition

Hannemann said the loss of the chairmanship won't render him powerless on the Council.

"I was very effective before I was the chair of the Council, so I'm going to go back and be that effective person."

Hannemann acknowledged he retains a wish to go to Congress and will be keeping an eye out on the congressional seats in the next few years.

He also issued a stern warning to Yoshimura and the new majority:

"I think the challenge for the new leadership is to stay the course of the system of checks and balances and to ensure that this is a Honolulu City Council and not a Harris city council."