The two men spoke separately to the third annual Native Hawaiian Conference at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, sponsored by the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement. With the Sept. 18 primary election now just over two weeks away, the two leading candidates have been appearing at more and more forums together, although yesterday each spoke to the audience while the other remained sequestered elsewhere in the building.

Bainum, asked his views on a future landfill, said, "I do not support a new landfill anywhere on O'ahu and I most certainly would not allow a landfill to be placed anywhere along the Wai'anae Coast, where the greatest number of Native Hawaiians reside." The comment drew the largest applause of the afternoon for Bainum from a crowd that otherwise was decidedly pro-Hannemann.

Hannemann said he would prefer that there not be additional landfills anywhere, but believes there likely will be a need for one. He noted, however, that if there were to be one, surrounding residents should be given a community benefits package to help compensate for the impacts.

Hannemann chided Bainum for not only promising Native Hawaiians that a new landfill would not go up in Wai'anae, but for promising Kailua residents he would not allow a landfill in their neighborhood during an earlier forum on the Windward side. Hannemann said the decision is up to the City Council, not the mayor, and that Bainum was wrong to be making such promises to different communities.

Bainum, however, said it is realistic to say the city may not have to build a new landfill, noting that at least one private hauler has agreed to ship part of its waste to the Mainland, thereby extending the existing five-year lifespan of the existing Waimanalo Gulch Landfill at Kahe Point. He called Hannemann's plan for a community benefits package "meaningless."

Meanwhile, Bainum questioned Hannemann's support for a bill that would eliminate the city's controversial leasehold conversion law for condominiums. He noted that while they were on the council together, they both voted 15 times to begin mandatory conversion proceedings against landowners.

Hannemann said after the forum that he has never denied supporting the leasehold conversion law through his votes on the council. "I voted to uphold the law," he said, noting that state and federal courts had affirmed the conversion law as legal. "It's not a flip-flop."

Hannemann and three other council members could not muster the five votes necessary to overturn the leasehold conversion law. He said he would now support a measure to overturn the conversion law, particularly since ali'i land trusts say the law has had a negative effect on their income, which supports Native Hawaiian social programs.

Bainum said he continues to support leasehold conversion because "I support the right of people to own their own homes."