Records show Harris away for 45 1/2 days
By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer
Mayor Jeremy Harris has been quite a frequent flier during his last year in office, traveling on the Mainland and in other countries on 45 1/2 of the 123 work days in the year's first half, city records show.
The trips for speaking engagements sponsored by the United Nations and other groups have showcased the city and its accomplishments during Harris' 10 years in office. But they've also left the city without its elected leader during key events.
Harris
Harris was gone the entire final week of annual budget deliberations by the City Council, and the whole week after. And he had come and gone again by the time his vetoes of several line items were sent to the council.
He was also away during some heated discussions about the islandwide recycling program he hopes to launch soon, and was gone when the main recycling yard for the program went up in flames.
The many absences have some council members wondering if Harris, who cannot run for re-election because of term limits, already has one foot out the door.
"I'm kind of shocked to hear he was out that much," council chairman Donovan Dela Cruz said. "Often times, we don't even know when he's out of town."
Harris said his absence did not affect the budget talks, and that his travel had not been excessive. His staff said a total of $7,122 was spent for three of the 10 recent trips, but that the rest were paid for by groups that sponsored the events Harris attended.
"Obviously I do not believe it's been excessive, and I think it's very important to the city,"
Harris said of his travel. "Our goal has been to make Honolulu a model, both nationally and internationally, for city operations, and especially as a sustainable city."
Harris returned to City Hall on Wednesday after a visit to Boston, where the U.S. Conference of Mayors honored Honolulu and several other cities for outstanding achievement in "city livability."
Since late February, Harris has also traveled to Hong Kong, Washington, D.C., Colorado, China, South Carolina, Australia, Chile, Chicago and Saipan, mostly to give speeches on sustainable development and city infrastructure.
"I'm very proud to be asked to speak at these prestigious events," Harris said.
He said he had been away "significantly more" this year compared to earlier in his administration because Honolulu is now widely recognized as a success story.
But Councilman Charles Djou called it "unfortunate" that Harris had been gone so often.
"During the budget debate, he just was not around at all," Djou said. "I think it shows his mind is somewhere else."
Harris and his staff do not normally release the mayor's daily schedule to the media or issue a statement when he leaves on a trip, as Gov. Linda Lingle and many other mayors typically do. The mayor's staff provided a breakdown of Harris' recent travels after The Advertiser requested it last week.
Djou said he would sponsor a bill that would require the mayor to provide public notification to the City Clerk before future trips, and to specify how long he will be away, and who will be running the city while he's gone.
City managing director Ben Lee normally becomes acting mayor for official purposes when Harris is away. Harris said he speaks to Lee on a daily basis during those times and is still in charge.
But Djou said there could be times when both officials are gone, and there should be no secrecy or ambiguity about the situation.
"The people elected a mayor, and when he's going to transfer power to someone they didn't elect, the people should know," Djou said. "I'm not saying he doesn't have the right to travel. It's just unfortunate that he's been away so much."
Djou missed a vote on last year's budget because he was away for Army Reserve training but has taken no trips paid for by the city.
The new budget includes a $9,920 allotment for each of the 9 council members to spend on travel, supplies and mailings.
Djou said that's excessive. But Dela Cruz said the money is to allow each member to travel to the Mainland twice for meetings of the National Association of Counties, and to Neighbor Islands twice for meetings of the Hawai'i State Association of Counties.
Last year's budget was structured differently, and included $19,600 for travel expenses for the entire council, he said. Supplies and other expenses were kept separate.
Dela Cruz said the council exceeded its $19,600 travel budget, but that the added costs were associated with an upcoming National Association of Counties event and were paid for out of a budget established for it.
Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.
