Posted on: Monday, September 20, 2004
EDITORIAL
Now that the primary's over, let's get serious
Even after months of campaigning and a multimillion-dollar deluge of advertising, Honolulu is still not ready to decide who it wants as its next mayor.
That was the message of Saturday's voting, in which neither Mufi Hannemann nor Duke Bainum managed to garner the magic 50 percent plus one vote that would have delivered an outright victory.
The wild card was dealt by former Mayor Frank Fasi, who pulled in close to 10 percent of the vote despite running a low-key, low-budget campaign.
The first question now becomes: Where will those Fasi voters go? Fasi will enjoy the entreaties and supplications that will come from the Bainum and Hannemann camps.
But it is entirely possible that many of the Fasi votes represented a kind of "kanalua" by voters who remained undecided between the two front-runners.
In addition, the voter mix for the general election will be different than the primary. More people will participate, including those — such as newcomers — whose principal interest is the presidential election.
One theory is that Hannemann will do better among the former Fasi voters while Bainum will have the edge within the newcomer vote.
That suggests the outcome of the general election will rest solidly on the performance of the two candidates in these final weeks before November.
Our hope is that Phase II of the campaign will produce more specifics, more detailed plans and more hard truth from both candidates.
Both Hannemann and Bainum are veterans of City Hall and know the city's problems and opportunities well. They should have no trouble articulating a vision for Honolulu that goes beyond platitudes and feel-good slogans.
The encouraging thing is that these two candidates have the intelligence and the background to make this second round a campaign to remember. It is time for them to shake off their handlers and strategists and go forward from the head and the heart.
We'd like to hear the candidates debate, face to face. We want to hear them speak directly to the citizens of Honolulu about what this city would look like under their leadership.
We also want tough talk. The years ahead will be a challenge for Honolulu as it tries to maintain the vibrancy and excitement that outgoing Mayor Jeremy Harris has brought while dealing with long-simmering infrastructure issues such as sewers and road repair.
How will we pay for all this? We need better than vague promises to find waste in the existing budget and hopes that someone — the state, the federal government— will bail us out.
The primary is over. Let the real campaign begin.
