Posted on: Friday, January 18, 2002
He's our fair weather mayor
By Lee Cataluna
Advertiser Columnist
I've been holding on to this little pupu of a story for a couple of weeks, mulling over what it meant. This week, it clicked.
The last Sunday in December, the city's "Sunset on the Beach" free movie and cheap eats program in Waikiki was rainy and windy and miserable. The movie ("Titanic") had to be stopped midway because the gusts were threatening to yank the 30-foot screen off its moorings and send it sailing into the crowd. The movie was stopped at precisely the moment when Kate Winslet was about to drop her robe for Leonardo DiCaprio and thus expose her chest to dozens of children in the audience, which fed rumors among the crowd that the city hadn't realized until that exact moment that "Titanic" wasn't exactly G-rated. It was, however, very windy and the safety concern was obvious.
Jeremy Harris was there as per usual for his opening remarks while the sun was still shining low on the horizon. But when the weather turned, JH was nowhere to be found. He sent poor Ben Lee to deliver the bad news to the disappointed crowd. Ramona Harris was still there. Maybe JH had to dash off to cut a ribbon or untie a maile lei. But the mayor, not about to be the bearer of bad news, had disappeared into the dark and stormy night.
Ben Lee had to stand out in the wind and the rain and say, "We're sorry. We're sorry. It's windy. Nothing we can do about it." Harris knows we like our elected officials to be bigger than storms, undaunted by Mother Nature. Just ask Harry Kim. The events of this last week made it all clear. It's all about the election for Jeremy Harris. Every move, every decision, every public service announcement for streams or health or peace on earth, every public appearance and public disappearance -- it's all about his quest to be governor.
Harris' decision to keep the much-despised traffic cameras off city roads sure seems more about political concerns than safety concerns. Harris witnessed the fury the program kicked up for the state and saw an opportunity.
Likewise, Harris announced this week that "Sunset on the Beach" will be expanded to places like Kailua and Waipahu, you know, so tourists can have a new appreciation for the town (and so voters there can have a new appreciation for Jeremy Harris). It's like a fifth-grader campaigning for class presiden, promising longer recess and better cookies at lunch.
And, of course, the biggie: the Campaign Spending Commission's action is, in Harris' eyes, a big conspiracy to keep him from realizing his destiny. Because it's all about being governor. Never mind there are serious questions about accounting records that should be flawless. Never mind that a real leader would take responsibility over everything his name is attached to. It's all about the campaign for governor and Harris' blind and blinding ambition.
Reach Lee Cataluna at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com
