Posted on: Wednesday, September 15, 2004

VOLCANIC ASH

By David Shapiro

Voters looking for leadership in Honolulu Hale over the next four years didn't see much on display in the televised debate between the three leading mayoral candidates, former councilmen Duke Bainum and Mufi Hannemann and former Mayor Frank Fasi.

The candidates repeated their tired slogans as though they had some kind of hypnotic value, while avoiding commitments to specific actions they would take to address major issues confronting O'ahu residents.

For Bainum, his mantra of "honest change" was his answer to everything, but it's become meaningless jargon without more specifics to back it up. Hannemann was all about "talking the talk and walking the walk." Or was it "walking the talk?" No matter. It's political gibberish without a forthright agenda attached to it.

Fasi rested on his record from his 22-year run as mayor that ended a decade ago, but didn't find it necessary to spell out in any detail how his experience relates to today's concerns.

All three candidates have centered their campaigns around promises to focus attention on O'ahu's infrastructure — roads, sewers, park maintenance.

Fasi hit on the crucial point when he kept challenging his opponents on how they were going to pay for these projects, which he estimated will cost $2 billion — a figure not disputed by the others.

Bainum and Hannemann have not denied during their campaigns that higher taxes or more borrowing may be needed, but skirted discussion of these unpopular fixes before the television audience. Instead, they pointed to budget cuts they'd make and efficiencies they'd impose that would leave them about $1.98 billion short of the $2 billion quoted by Fasi.

Fasi said flatly that he wouldn't raise taxes or increase borrowing, but he also didn't specify where he'd get the money, aside from unlikely proposals to put casino gambling on Midway Island and sell the land under Aloha Stadium.

Fasi essentially asked voters to take it on faith that he'd find the money — the point reinforced when he compared his campaign to Moses being called into the service of the Lord.

All three candidates ducked the question of where they'd put a new landfill on O'ahu.

And it became almost comical when they argued about cooperation with other branches of government. None of the three has distinguished himself in the area of political cooperation.

Bainum was on the outs with his fellow Democrats during his two terms in the Legislature and was often sulking in the minority during his eight years on the council.

Hannemann was constantly engaged in petty disputes with Mayor Jeremy Harris as a councilman and blew his chance as council chairman when his colleagues deposed him for being too high-handed with them and the mayor.

Fasi's years as mayor were marked by periods of open political warfare with the council, the governor, the Legislature and the congressional delegation.

That brings us back to the question of leadership, which above all else is looking voters in the eye and telling exactly what you intend to do, even if some remedies may be painful.

The televised debate was the best chance for candidates to educate a broad audience about their plans, but instead they went for style points and generalities.

Here's hoping Saturday's votes are widely enough spread among the 10 candidates that nobody gets the majority needed to win outright, forcing a runoff in the general election Nov. 2.

We need another six weeks to think about this one — and to squeeze straight answers out of candidates who think leadership is all about coming up with the catchiest slogan.

David Shapiro can be reached by e-mail at dave@volcanicash.net.