Bainum criticizes
opponent’s adHe says Hannemann is distorting t
he facts on an ag land tax break
Former City Councilman Duke Bainum is accusing his mayoral opponent Mufi Hannemann of negative campaigning with the primary election more than three months away.
When Bainum was a city councilman in 2002, he introduced Bill 10, which gives property tax breaks to farmers and landowners who actively farm agricultural lands. The bill, which is now law, also raises the property tax for agricultural land left idle.
Hannemann ads airing on local radio stations say, "Duke's Bill 10 raised farmers' land valuation by as much as 20 times, sending taxes through the roof."
"Mufi Hannemann has been airing, broadcasting ads this past week or so that misinforms and distorts my position on Bill 10. He makes personal attacks on my motivation for introducing Bill 10, implying that I was not trying to help the farmers," Bainum said yesterday in a news conference at his Kapiolani Boulevard campaign headquarters.
The Hannemann ad also quotes Hawaii Kai farmer Katsumi Higa, who says: "My family's tax bill is much bigger than before. The last thing small business people need is a huge tax increase. I'm so worried I cannot sleep."
When the Star-Bulletin reached Higa yesterday, he said the property tax on his 6.9-acre farm has gone up "only a few dollars" in the past few years. However, he said he is worried it could go up if he does not farm the land or farms only a portion of it.
Hannemann was not available for comment. However, a written statement from campaign spokeswoman Lynne Waters said, "The Hannemann campaign stands by the content of its radio advertisement on Bill 10 and the resulting negative impact on Hawaii's farmers."
That is why the Oahu Farm Bureau endorsed Hannemann last week, the statement said.