ANALYSIS
Harris colors his words bright green

By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Capitol Bureau Chief

Mayor Jeremy Harris went back to his roots with an extremely "green" speech yesterday, one that attempted to tap a political vein of environmentalism in Hawai'i.

Harris wants recycling of sewage sludge, recycling of ash from burned rubbish and recycling of other debris now dumped in a landfill. He wants to create a "non-polluting" electric transit system and expand the city's "garbage-to-energy" H-POWER plant.

With Harris planning to resign in July to run for governor, it isn't clear how he can make all of this happen in his last six months as mayor. Environmentalists, meanwhile, said Harris hasn't always followed through on every pledge to protect the environment.

But a number of political observers said the speech worked as a good, fresh political pitch.

"He's clearly a modern political leader, and modern political leaders are going to be sensitive to the environment," said Ira Rohter, co-chair of the Hawai'i Green Party and a professor of political science at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa.

"It's good politics, but it's sensible, and that's what people are looking for is real leadership in a different direction," Rohter said.

State Health Director Bruce Anderson said Harris' eighth State of the City address was more focused on environmental protection than any speech by any public official Anderson has heard in the past decade. Anderson, who oversees state environmental protection programs, welcomed the approach.

"I don't think environmental issues are as prominent as they were 10 years ago. At the same time, it's even more important now that they be dealt with, and I think people recognize the impact of environmental degradation," Anderson said. "There is still a strong constituency for addressing those issues."

Environmentalism is no stretch for Harris, who was trained as a marine biologist and first elected the the Kaua'i County Council on a platform based in part on limiting or controlling growth.

As Honolulu mayor, Harris had to concern himself with the unglamorous issues of waste and pollution, making an environmental pitch a natural one for his next bid for office.

Environmental politics are hardly new in the governor's race. Gov. Ben Cayetano also worked hard to win over the environmental movement in his 1994 and 1998 bids for governor. But yesterday's address suggests environmentalism will play a more important part in Harris's political identity than that of the other gubernatorial candidates.

Rohter said Harris has a distinct advantage on this turf because D.G. "Andy" Anderson is identified more as a developer than an environmentalist, and Republican Linda Lingle clashed with a number of environmental activists when she was mayor of Maui.

But it also carries risks, because Harris has a long record that can be probed for inconsistencies.

Sierra Club Director Jeff Mikulina recalled that Harris proposed in his 1998 State of the City speech to "draw rigid and absolute urban boundaries and redirect all future urban growth to Kapolei."

"At the time, it sounded great," Mikulina said. But Mikulina questioned how the Harris' 1998 speech squares with his administration's support for most of a Castle & Cooke Homes' plan to reclassify nearly 1,248 acres of former pineapple land in Central O'ahu to allow for urban development.

"He definitely talks the talk," and is more attentive to environmental issues than other public officials but hasn't always followed through, Mikulina said.

Others are less kind.

"I guess I'd ask, what's taken him so long?" said Rep. Cynthia Thielen, R-49th (Kailua, Kane'ohe Bay Drive) Thielen, a retired land use and environmental lawyer, said Harris has clamped onto an issue with obvious political appeal, but the environment simply hasn't been a priority for him.

"I look at all of the people that have been in the trenches on environmental issues, and I haven't seen Jeremy there," she said.

Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.