A. Not at all. There are things that I agreed with him on and where I agreed, I supported him: The Waikiki special district design amendments, the 'Ewa development plan ...

And there are key issues which I'm not going to agree on. An example is Waikiki. We think he built too many water features, but that's in the past and I can't undo that. So now let me try to do a heck of a job working with private interests to maintain it.

The key is to make sure we maintain the things that Jeremy did. Central O'ahu regional park and Waipi'o soccer field are two classic examples. I had my concerns on the council; I thought he was rushing it much too quickly.

Well, he rushed it up, but once again it's done and people are enjoying it. I'm not going to turn back the clock and say we're going to close it.

Q. You said you're not pulling the plug, although in the case of Bus Rapid Transit and the Natatorium, you do want to pull the plug.

A. Well, things that I agree on, I want to be able to take it to another level. Jeremy will take a look back and say wow, what I started Mufi's maintained. The things that I fundamentally disagree (with) I'm going to have to figure out ... how to make lemonade out of lemons.

I still maintain the BRT is not what we should do. I also feel that with the Natatorium we should not pursue full restoration.

Q. One of the things you will have to explain to Mr. Honolulu taxpayer is that a bunch of money was poured into BRT and a bunch of money poured into the Natatorium and now you're saying, thanks for the contributions, but I'm not going to use it.

A. From what I understand, the BRT is funded with city dollars. I'm pulling the plug on the federal side of it. I want to confine usage of the BRT funding to just the Kuhio Avenue improvements. Let's finish up Kuhio Avenue and do it right.

Let's leave BRT there and let's figure out another wise usage of federal dollars.

I've always said that there are three questions that have to be asked of government usage and money as well as private usage: Do you need it? Can you afford it? And most important, can you maintain it? And if you have a problem with maintaining it, you shouldn't go forward.

Q. You just said you can't count on Uncle Sam to help you, yet and you've always said we do need some kind of fixed rail transit system. As a practical matter, what are you going to tell your constituents on how this thing is going to be paid for?

A. The plan is this. I'm already talking to (state transportation director) Rod Haraga. One of the ideas I want to implement as soon as possible is the traffic flow concept. I'm just calling it that for now. We've got to meet regularly to coordinate our strategy both for long-term transportation and short term.

I've talked about reversing the traffic flow, putting more jobs in Kapolei beginning with a mayor who's willing to work out of Kapolei with his Cabinet. I've talked about staggering city work hours. I want to pursue funding with a private operator to launch a ferry system again.

So those are the short-term solutions.

And I'm going to see how we can work to put the city traffic control center and the state traffic control center under one house.

I think Rod and I are going to be on the same page. On the Mainland, they do it from a regional traffic control center perspective, not this city and state stuff. That's archaic thinking.

Q. Here's an unfair question for you. Are you willing to be judged on success or failure in your first year as mayor if you can get the state and city on the same page on traffic?

A. (Laughs). I'll tell you this: I think you're going to see greater state and county cooperation than you have ever seen before. That's No. 1.

No. 2.: You're going to see me work very hard on county cooperation.

I don't want to be judged on one issue, I think we're going to be able to do five to six things that are long overdue and I feel very confident within the first year that you're going to see things happen.

Q. So you are willing to commit to greater city-state cooperation on a spectrum of things.

A. Exactly. And judge me on getting federal grants. And I'm not just talking about grants for the county. I'm talking about grants that we can have for nonprofit groups. I'm going to make phone calls, I'm going to lobby for it.

We've never had a mayor willing to extend himself. I don't want to be judged by the number of federal grants that come to the city government; I want to be judged on what's coming now in regards to Mufi Hannemann opening doors to Republicans and Democrats and public groups and private groups.

I think I have an excellent relationship with our Democratic delegation and also with Republicans in Washington.

Q. On that note, did you ever seriously consider running as a Republican?

A. I never considered running for office as a Republican based on the fact that I am a Democrat, I got my start as a Democrat. But what I've been equally focused on is not basing decisions on party lines or party ideology.

So let be me clear, I've had a lot of requests from Republicans both locally and in Washington who want me to run as Republican, but I've always maintained I'm a working-class guy and I am a Democrat.

People can build a bridge on both sides. I think it's refreshing that I'm a bridge as a mayor who is in a very unique position as a nonpartisan office holder.

Q. You talked a lot about doing an operational audit. Normally when you call for something like that, you have some idea of what you're looking for. What are you looking for in an operational audit?

A: I want to do two things. I want to be able to identify where we are taking from Peter to pay Paul. In the executive branch — and I'm not saying just Jeremy — they have a propensity to take from Peter to pay Paul; they shift monies around.

The legislative branch approves the budget, but only the executive branch can actually spend the money and they can choose to spend some of it, all of it or none of it or they shift it around.

So I want that audit to clearly identify where that has taken place and if it has, has there been an abuse of dollars being spent for certain projects approved by the council that the public is not willing to support?

Secondly, I want that audit to put us on a track of long-term financial projections. This is my commitment. I want to resurface roads, for example, every five to seven years.

For example, with the sewers you know that you have 20 years of work. Using long-term financial projections ... we know exactly what we have to budget for every year to get this done. We're going to budget for results.

For example, you're not going to see visioning teams automatically get their $2 million every year. I'm going to hold my department heads very accountable in that regard.

And the other difference is I would involve the council in this exercise. I don't want this situation where the budget is done in secret and we're all surprised on March 1. That's why I think there was a lot of rhubarb between the council and the mayor because things came down at the last minute. We're going to do it together as much as we can do it together. And I'm going to try to make it a very open process.

Mayor-elect Mufi Hannemann thanks supporters at the end of an election-night rally at Dole Cannery. Hours later, Hannemann learned he had won the race. Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

A. What I would like to do, if in fact that it is needed, is to do it (raise sewer fees) incrementally. It's just too big of a bite to do it all at once. I don't see how taxpayers could handle it otherwise. I'd like to do it incrementally and prioritize where we need to do it.

Q. Well, incremental increases would save the taxpayers a huge hit, but the city is under a consent decree to get this done on a timetable. If you slow down the pace of raising sewer fees to pay for it, you're going to slow down the pace of getting it done. Are you going to get in trouble with Uncle Sam?

A. This is where the operational audit is going to be very important. What I'm going to commit to is we will not raid the sewer fund to pay for this. If we raise your taxes, rest assured, the Hannemann administration will not have raided the sewer fund.

Q. I'm sorry, you said if we raise your sewer fees. Don't you mean when?

A. (Nods head in agreement)

Q. On election night, you were quite passionate about the influence of your parents and the impact of God's will on events. How much of your personal religious or moral beliefs will impact on how you will govern?

A. I believe religion is certainly something that is a private matter, and everyone worships differently. I also maintain that your values are very important. Part of my values is that I grew up in a home where we began every day with prayer. I'm a praying guy. I pray for everyone. I bless my food. I pray for strength. But I also insist that I keep that very separate from politics.

I never mix my religion with politics. But I feel values are very important. We should understand where values are based. Mine are based on our family. I say time and time again ... my parents are everything that I am and everything I hope to be.

They were prayerful people and spiritual people and that's what kept us going in a home where we didn't have a lot of material possessions. When I have a tough decision in life, I pray.

Q. At your news conference, you were asked about (e-mails involving Jennifer Bainum, Duke's wife, and her role in an inheritance dispute several years ago). You said you wrote a letter to (Bainum supporters) Gary Okino and Andy Winer and said you had nothing to do with this.

A. That's right. My campaign had nothing to with this.

So when I saw what Andy was saying and later Gary Okino was saying, that they strongly implied that we had our hands all over this ... I was trying to push back and say, look guys, I don't like things being done to intrude the privacy of my family, so something like this is not coming from my campaign and I am not condoning it.

Q. Did you consider doing a letter or statement either publically or privately to Duke saying I heard about this, Duke, I don't condone it, I think it's terrible, I wouldn't want any of my supporters to vote for me based on this ... ?

A. No. I did not speak with Duke. This definitely came from Andy and Gary so I felt it should be addressed to them specifically.

Q. But as you look at this from a PR aspect, did ever consider publically making a statement disassociating not only your campaign from this matter but telling your supporters you don't want them to judge Duke based on what this thing alleges?

A. I called press conference and asked media to attend, but no one came but KITV. I said to myself, wow, here I am willing to talk about it, but all media wants to report on is who is defacing whose signs. So I felt no one is interested in what I have to say.

Q. Would it hurt you if you learned that some of the people voted for you because they thought that something was wrong with Duke because of this thing his wife allegedly did to somebody? You don't want that kind of vote, do you?

A. Well. It's no different than people voting for Duke because they think Samoans are mobsters. Or rumors about me being head of the crime syndicate in Hawai'i because I'm Samoan.

Duke got votes that way. I'd be very naive if I think all the votes were very positive. There were stink things said about me and my family that I didn't appreciate.

Q. How did you get this feedback?

A. From people. My people out there tell me "I'm trying to get this person to vote, but he thinks Samoans are bad guys. Or, you're a Mormon."

It's a fact of life. Some people vote for you and some people vote against the other guy. So you can't control people's emotions and how they feel and how they're going to vote. They're going to use reasons to vote for or against you.

Q. Do you think this election has put a stake in that demon, that people won't vote for a Samoan?

A. You know, I heard repeatedly that a non-Caucasian cannot be elected mayor of Honolulu — you have to be a haole to be mayor.

So the race card is out there and I recognize for some people that it is difficult for them. I portray myself as someone who can appeal to everyone.

(Laughing) I got e-mail from my college saying we're surprised you can't get Caucasian votes, we love you. Come to California and run for office. We'll vote for you.

I don't think it's done in a conscious way. When I debated Duke, I would pull Caucasian votes. I knew when we went before chamber groups, business groups, Rotary groups, I would pull votes away from Duke because they'd say, "Hey, this guy can actually chew gum and walk at the same time."

Q. When we looked at the demographics in the primary, the controlling demographic was not so much ethnicity but income. You've talked about your appeal to blue-collar working people. Why is it do you suppose that Duke pulled higher income?

A. I think because he's from East Honolulu. And I'm seen as the guy from Kalihi or 'Aiea or Pearl City and he's perceived as being a wealthy person.

I remember one night: I was out trying to squeeze every vote, and this guy said, "I'd like to have a guy who represents the majority of the population, which is Caucasian."