Two candidates look at East Honolulu issues

By Treena Shapiro
Advertiser Staff Writer

State Rep. Charles Djou, R-47th (Kahalu'u, Kane'ohe), who lost his House seat during reapportionment, moved into the Hawai'i Kai district in June and captured 10,106 votes in the Sept. 21 primary, finishing far ahead of the four longtime district residents. Former city managing director Robert Fishman, who received 5,763 votes, will face Djou in the general election.

There is no incumbent in District 4, which includes some of the constituencies currently represented by Councilmen John Henry Felix and Duke Bainum, who both must step down because of term limits. After

it was reapportioned, the district includes portions of Kapahulu, Kaimuki and Makiki.

Council races are nonpartisan, but in this particular contest Djou, the House minority floor leader, has the backing of the Republican Party, while Fishman, former city managing director under Mayor Jeremy Harris, has been connected to Democratic administrations headed by former governors John Burns, George Ariyoshi and John Waihee.

Noting that he believes the city's biggest problem to be a projected deficit of $130 million, he added: "We need someone who understands economics and business to balance the budget without raising debt."

Fishman, 55, brings experience from both the public and private sector. His wide-ranging résumé includes stints as Aloha Stadium general manager, Hawai'i Tourism Authority chief executive officer, Hawaiian Airlines vice president and, at the Pentagon, senior adviser on homeland security for the Army Reserve.

Although he has been involved in 23 other political campaigns, this is the first time he has run for office, picking a time when "the city is going to go through a huge transformation."

As the city changes the way it does business, he said, "I see myself facing an opportunity to make a new contribution."

Both candidates agree that balancing the city's $1.1 billion budget takes top priority, but they differ on solutions.

For Djou, the city needs clearer priorities for its programs, putting public safety, sewer, water, garbage and transportation services above "glamour projects" such as skateboard parks and soccer fields.

The additional projects would be nice to have "if the city was having a budget surplus, if we didn't have problems with water breaks all over the place, if we had a Police Department that was fully staffed," he said.

City government "should be something that hums neatly and efficiently in the background — it's not something that should be aggressive, not something that should be over the top," Djou said.

Fishman, however, said he doesn't "believe deep down that people want smaller government." Taxpayers just want more services for their dollars, he explained.

"We've got to go back and get a grounding of what the city should be doing and how much the taxpayers should be paying for it," Fishman said.

To do this, the council needs to listen to the public to determine what it wants from the city, put together a package to address those needs, tell the people exactly what it will cost, then enact it if they are still willing to pay, he said.

Fishman would like to see more programs for retirees in his district. And, as property crime rises, he would like to see more youth programs. While other candidates have criticized the Sunset on the Beach programs as nonessential, Fishman sees them as a safe weekly event for teens.

He also wants to see more of a bridge between city and state, such as having an advocate from the city to go before the Board of Education or consolidating the city and state road-maintenance crews.

Djou also believes that the city could take over state highways and be given the gasoline tax to finance it.

While Djou calls for limited government, Fishman wants to make the existing government more efficient, beginning with looking into whether Harris' reorganization of the administration has worked. After three years, it should be "pretty clear whether the departments are working," Fishman said.

He said the city needs to create a culture of efficiency, with employees being rewarded for productivity.

After pushing for civil-service reform at the Legislature, Djou said he will bring the fight to the city level. "We've got to look at merit pay, we've got to look at ways we can hire and fire more easily, we've got to look at pensions," he said.

Fishman wants to push for more public and private partnerships and special improvement districts, such as those in Waikiki and downtown, where businesses and the city have worked in concert.

Djou, on the other hand, wants to see more privatization, such as in park maintenance or in record- and bookkeeping.

Both candidates agree that their philosophies have little in common, but they do share one thing:

"We're in the same Army Reserve unit," Djou said. "But he's a superior officer."

Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.

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