Posted on: Wednesday, September 15, 2004

No-shows prevent action on leasehold

By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer

A politically volatile dispute over Honolulu's condominium leasehold conversion law was left simmering yesterday after three City Council members failed to show up for a specially scheduled vote.

Their absence from the Budget Committee's meeting means the panel won't vote on whether to repeal the law until Sept. 29, well after Saturday's primary election. A final decision by the full council remains months away.

Two of the council members missing yesterday, Romy Cachola and Barbara Marshall, are seeking re-election Saturday. The third absentee was Councilman Charles Djou.

Dozens of people turned out to voice opinions, and many questioned why the vote was delayed.

Robin Makapagal, who wants the law repealed, said she was very disappointed in the missing council members, and called their absence "conspicuous."

"I recall using this very same tactic in high school," she said. "When I didn't want to face the music of an exam or a paper that was due that I didn't bother to finish, I just didn't show up."

Another repeal supporter, Everine Williams, also criticized the missing council members.

"We find it an insult that they cannot come," she said.

Cachola later said he stayed home because he was sick, but he declined to say how he would have voted on the bill that would repeal the law.

"It's an issue that has been massaged for a long time, and we're still looking at ways to resolve it, to come up with a win-win solution," he said.

Marshall said she had to attend meetings she had scheduled before the committee vote was set. She said she was not sure how she would have voted, but was concerned that repeal could lead to costly litigation.

Djou said he has always supported the conversion law and would have voted against the repeal bill. He said he didn't attend the meeting because his vote would have prevented the short-handed committee from advancing the measure, so the effect was the same. The current law, known as Chapter 38, allows the city to force landowners to sell qualified condominium owners the fee interest in the land under their units.

The law is popular with many people who want full ownership of the condos they live in, but is staunchly opposed by some landowners, including Kamehameha Schools and other large charitable trusts that benefit Hawaiian children.

The dispute over Chapter 38 has become a wedge factor in the mayoral race, with the two leading candidates taking squarely opposite positions. Duke Bainum supports keeping the law intact, and Mufi Hannemann supports repeal.

A group backing the repeal bill has picketed Bainum's campaign headquarters and sponsored radio ads that criticize him for supporting the law.

If no mayoral candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote on Saturday, the two with the most votes will face each other in a runoff during the Nov. 2 general election. The full council is not likely to decide on the repeal bill before then, so the issue may continue to heat up the mayoral race.

Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.