Schools, traffic
on candidate’s radar

Mayoral hopeful
Mufi Hannemann
lays out his plans

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By Crystal Kua
ckua@starbulletin.com

Mayoral candidate Mufi Hannemann unveiled his platform yesterday: managing the city's money better, concentrating on basic city services, diversifying Honolulu's economy, finding traffic congestion solutions and assisting public education.

"It's a very demanding and complicated job," Hannemann said. "It's gonna require an individual who has experience that counts and the ability to get the job done."

He invited reporters to his Kapiolani Boulevard campaign headquarters to outline the different parts of his plan:

>> Revitalize the economy. Honolulu must diversify its economy through private and public partnerships. For example, he said, the mayor could help persuade the NFL to hold a preseason game here along with the post-season Pro Bowl.

>> Improve transportation. A rail project would take too long to ease traffic woes, he said, so solutions such as a ferry system -- with city buses rolling down to the ferry site -- between downtown and Central and Leeward Oahu, as well as staggered working hours, could help sooner rather than later. Bus rapid transit "is not the answer," he said.

>> Support public education. The city, he said, could have a role in improving education, which is a state responsibility. For example, transforming Moiliili and McCully into a college-town atmosphere to support the University of Hawaii could be done.

"We plant trees, we do landscaping. It's what we've done in Waikiki. Why not help the University of Hawaii?"

>> Focus on city services and public safety. Instead of community signs, he said, the city should be focusing on improving and maintaining roads, the sewer and solid-waste systems, and parks.

>> Fiscal accountability and trust.

"Someone who's going to watch the house, who's going to ensure that audits are done in a very open and timely manner," he said.

Balancing the city budget includes budgeting for expected pay raises ahead of time instead of not budgeting for them until the end, he said.

"Public workers are very critical to the demands and operations of the city," he said. "You have to show your commitment by putting (raises) in the front end of the budget."