Legislator to run for Council

By Walter Wright
Advertiser Staff Writer

State Rep. Charles Djou, the House minority floor leader, announced yesterday he will run for Honolulu City Council.

State Rep. Charles Djou is the Republican leader in the House. Advertiser library photo

Djou said fellow members of the Republican party had asked him to consider running for lieutenant governor, but that he decided he could have a greater influence on public policy as a city councilman than in the "largely ceremonial" lieutenant governor's position.

Djou jumped into addressing issues yesterday during a press conference, saying he's concerned about cost overruns at the city's Hanauma Bay project, is opposed to taking two lanes out of Kalaniana'ole Highway for a bus rapid transit route, is interested in exploring light rail for East O'ahu, and favors privatizing some city services.

Djou, who has lived in Kane'ohe for five years and on the Windward side most of his life, will see his House district disappear this year because of redistricting.

Djou acknowledged some may regard him as a carpetbagger for moving to run for the seat. But he said he has had an interest in the district for a while, partly because his wife, Stacey Kawasaki Djou, and her family, are longtime Hawai'i Kai residents. Her son is in fourth grade in Wai'alae public school, he said.

Djou is a graduate of Punahou, the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Finance and Commerce, and USC Law School. He has a practice in business law.

At 31, he is the youngest member of his party ever to hold the leadership post in the House of Representatives, Djou was named Legislator of the Year (2001) by Small Business Hawai'i.

He said he favors limited government, and wants to bring reform "to a City Council in desperate need of change." His background in economics and finance will enable him both to spur the economy and save money in city operations, he said.

Regarding privatization, which he has favored in the Legislature, Djou said park-cleaning operations are one city service that might be done more effectively by a private company. Other city services, from internal accounting to rubbish collection, also should be considered for being taken over by private companies, he said.

Where city employees can perform services most efficiently and economically, Djou said, he sees no need for change. Where privatization has occurred, he said, many companies have offered jobs to city employees who used to hold them.

The area covered by the new City Council 4th District is represented by John Henry Felix, and, at the Waikiki end, by Duke Bainum. Redistricting pulled the council district out of parts of Waimanalo and moved it into parts of Waikiki.