Harris will serve on the DNC's rules committee and speak at the mayors' conference about Honolulu as a model for sustainable development.

He said that city taxpayers would not pay for the trip and that he would take vacation time off.

"I have earned it and I have the right to take it," he said. "I hope they they (council members) don't mind."

Harris was away for 45y´ of the 123 workdays in the first half of the year for conferences in Washington, D.C., and Hong Kong, Colorado, China, South Carolina, Australia, Chile, Chicago and Saipan, mostly to give speeches on sustainable development and city infrastructure.

The period included six vacation days. Most of the trips were paid for by organizations sponsoring the events. Harris spent a total of $7,122 in city money to make three of the trips.

Councilman Charles Djou criticized Harris for being away during final discussions about the city's annual budget. Others have questioned whether all the trips were necessary.

The mayor's formal authority is normally transferred to the city's managing director or another official when the mayor is away. Djou has introduced a bill that would require the mayor to make a public notification to the city clerk's office before leaving O'ahu. He said the public should be informed when the mayor hands authority over to an official who was not elected.

"I think it's perfectly reasonable," he said. "The president of the United States has to notify Congress when he hands over power, and the governor provides notice to the Legislature. It's not unreasonable to ask the mayor of Honolulu to do the same."

But Harris said that the bill is unnecessary and that he believed it would violate the City Charter.

"Next they'll be telling me I need to get their permission to go the restroom," he said. "It's more cheap politics. What a surprise."

Harris will leave office at the end of the year and cannot run for re-election because of term limits.

"It won't really affect me anyway," he said of Djou's bill. "It's going to affect future mayors."

Harris said council members should offer to make the same type of notification when they're away.