Djou chided for being 'obstacle' on transit

The councilman fires back that he will not "sit down and shut up"

Mayor Mufi Hannemann and U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie called on Councilman Charles Djou yesterday to move on and not be an obstacle to bringing mass transit to Honolulu.

"It's pau already. Let's move forward," the mayor said.

"I hope this ends it. I hope everyone in the state understands now that there was never any question of corruption, there was never any question of inappropriate behavior. It was all grandstanding and headline grabbing," Abercrombie said. "I think his intent was political, to focus on himself, to grab some publicity as a naysayer on the issue and, in the process, of course, create a little consternation in the public mind."

The Federal Transit Administration determined that the city did not violate federal procurement rules over the awarding of a contract to examine mass transit options.

Allegations that city officials ordered the primary vendor on the contract to add a political supporter and friend of the mayor as a subconsultant were among the reasons Djou gave for asking for a federal investigation.

Djou accepted the FTA findings, and he said he would continue to raise questions when warranted.

"Congressman Abercrombie is certainly entitled to his opinion. He can make whatever assertions he would like, but I think at the end of the day, what he would really like is just for me not to ask difficult questions," Djou said. "If they want me to sit down and shut up, that is something quite frankly I'm not going to do."

Hannemann and Abercrombie said the project never had a black cloud over it, because they knew everything was done properly.

"I never regarded it as an obstacle at all. I knew we were on the right side of the truth. My mama used to say, 'When you're being honest, you have nothing to worry about.' I think he was clearly looking at it to derail the project," Hannemann said.

"Everybody knows what he was doing," Abercrombie said, describing Djou's behavior as juvenile. "That's what I mean: Grow up, be responsible."