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THERE has been talk lately about the Honolulu City Council being rendered "dysfunctional" by the problems of some of its members. While I understand the public concern that members might be distracted by their personal problems, it is ironic that most of those involved in the city's legislative process agree that it's been years since the Council has been as productive as it is now. Problems don’t keep
Council from performingInstead of spending countless hours bickering among ourselves or posturing for political advantage at the expense of our colleagues or the mayor, Council members have been able to devote their attention to getting the public's business done. However, this situation apparently does not sit well with certain members of the Council minority who lost leadership positions in last May's reorganization.
Of course, they have every right to their opinions. But people should consider the source. Some have already announced their intent to leave the Council early and run for other offices.
Although they are happy to demean and deride their colleagues as "dysfunctional," their statements are noticeably lacking in any positive proposals of their own. Nor do they point to a single piece of legislation or single item of city business stalled or tabled as a result of members' problems.
It seems these disgruntled Council members aren't about to let a little thing like the truth get in the way of a cheap shot and a pithy sound bite.
I have remained silent through much of the sniping. It's not my style to look for controversy. But I feel compelled to respond.
I am proud of the Council's record since its reorganization. We took a budget process mired in bickering between the Council and administration, and produced a spending plan that both sides agree on. We've maintained the level and quality of city services despite continuing hard economic times.
Moreover, we balanced the budget without a garbage collection fee or increase in bus fares.
The Council has also tried to stimulate the economy. We passed a measure providing property tax relief for new development and redevelopment that has already borne fruit in the construction of a new hotel tower at the Hilton Hawaiian Village and work on Duty Free Shoppers' Galleria project in Waikiki. We are also working to streamline the process for the creation of improvement districts, empowering business people to take charge of improving their areas to attract new business.
COUNCIL members are also actively engaged, along with the city administration, in the "visioning" process through which Oahu residents are working to determine priorities for their neighborhoods. My colleagues and I are committed to seeing that the projects identified as priorities are funded, provided the money is available.
There is no denying that individual Council members have had to deal with a rash of personal problems lately. Most of these problems have nothing to do with members' official duties, and there is no "common thread" connecting these issues.
The Council is probably one of the most heavily scrutinized public bodies in the state, given that it meets year-round and is comprised of only nine members. We are all human. No matter how hard we try to avoid it, we all slip up now and then.
Sometimes the problems are real. Sometimes they are a matter of perception, the product of questions raised by the media in a hasty rush to judgment.
The best we can do is to try to address these problems ourselves, on our own time, and with a minimum of impact on the Council and city.
Jon C. Yoshimura is chairman of the Honolulu City Council.