To Rail or Not?
That is the Ballot Question. The biggest ballot question in the Sept. 20 primary isn’t for mayor, but the rail plan pushed by Mayor Hannemann. MidWeek asks him and leading mayoral candidates Panos Prevedouros and Ann Kobayashi about the various transit plans they favor. Mayor Mufi Hannemann’s bid for a second term should have been easy.
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By Susan Sunderland
Ann Kobayashi won’t be railroaded.
The mayoral candidate intends to put up a vigorous challenge to incumbent Mayor Mufi Hannemann and use the opportunity to debate the merits of a rail transit system. People are being railroaded into thinking that steel on steel is the best option for Honolulu’s transit system, and that just isn’t so, she declares.
Kobayashi says she entered the mayoral race because she wants to give people a choice and to let their voices be heard in deciding the fate of the city’s most expensive ($3.7 billion) infrastructure investment to date.
“I want to return power to the people,” she says.
That would imply that power is elsewhere now. Is it?, we ask the 71-year-old city councilwoman whose term ends this year.
“People seem to want a change,” Kobayashi answers. “There are many who are afraid to speak out and question government. Listening is important. I don’t dictate or micromanage.
“It’s a matter of style,” she adds.
The subtlety ends there.
While Kobayashi supports mass transit, she emphatically favors rubber-tire-on-cement to a steel-wheel-on-steel-rail system.
“Rubber-on-concrete vehicles can do the same thing as steel-on-steel, but it’s more flexible because you don’t have to lay down track; and it doesn’t use a lot of electricity, it’s a hybrid,” she explains. “Plus, it’s less than half the cost of rail.
“The public thinks mass transit is rail,” Kobayashi says, referring to the terminology confusion. “We all want a fixed guideway system; we only differ on the technology.
“The rail lobby is very strong in the U.S. But that technology is over 100 years old. We need to look at new technology, such as mag lev (magnetic levitation) and rubber-on-concrete.”
Once you get Kobayashi started on the subject of mass transit, she’s like a runaway car. There’s no stopping her.
But that’s not unusual. The topic has become the town’s liveliest debate. Public hearings and City Council sessions on mass transit would rival TV reality shows for drama, spontaneity and entertainment. (Councilman Donovan Dela Cruz and city transportation director Wayne Yoshioka are particularly good at it.)
But all that dialogue is healthy, according to Kobayashi, who believes a thorough examination of issues leads to governmental transparency and accountability. Too often citizen input is woefully missing, she contends, and elected officials are left to conjecture.
Is it apathy, confusion or delegation of responsibility to our leaders? Could be all of that, in the view of Kobayashi, who’s been in public service all of her career.
“We should be encouraging people to get involved in the process instead of discouraging them and throwing up roadblock after roadblock,” she states.
This is Kobayashi’s second run for mayor. She ran unsuccessfully against Jeremy Harris in 1994 after serving in the state Legislature for 14 years. She was elected to the council in 2002 and has represented the Manoa-Moiliili area for eight years.
She would have run unopposed for another term, but at the 11th hour decided to file for the mayoral race. “I talked to my family and close friends, and decided to go for it,” she recounts. “This is such a critical year ... so much money is being spent on projects, especially on mass transit. These are projects with a lot of impact, but not enough public input.
“Another tipping point was when the Stop Rail petition with 41,000 signatures was not accepted by the city clerk. So I gave up my council bid to move into a race against an incumbent with $2.5 million (in campaign funds).”
It seems like a steep ride to victory, but the Roosevelt High School grad is not discouraged. Public service is in her blood, she reminds us, and winning over constituents and voters is part of the political process.
Because of a Circuit Court ruling on the Stop Rail petition and proposed City Charter amendment, a rail question will be on the November General Election ballot, in one form or another.
This pleases Kobayashi, who wants to “return power to the people” and feels her candidacy is helped by the grassroots campaign she is pursuing throughout the community.
But it’s not a single-issue campaign, she insists. There are other matters, and Kobayashi is prepared to address other concerns, such as the landfill dilemma in Waianae, infrastructure needs and public safety.
“We are committed to serve four years,” Kobayashi pledges. “I don’t expect people to commit to me if I can’t commit to them.”
Kobayashi has three children and six grandchildren who occupy her non-public-service time. Campaigning and council duties fill her waking moments these days, but she always finds time for qigong (meditation and exercise) that provides inner peace and harmony. Her youthful appearance and demeanor belie her age at 71, and she claims age is not a factor in her race against Hannemann, 54; UH engineering professor Panos Prevedouros, 47; and other contenders. Her stamina and health are excellent, she offers, and points to her feat of being a breast cancer survivor as evidence of endurance. Nor does she cower under the weight of Hanneman’s war chest of millions.
“Money power is great, but people power is greater,” she asserts. “To run for office, it doesn’t take money. It takes honesty, openness and networking.”
She intends to work that network to showcase her attributes as a leader and come out a winner in the primary election.
If she’s not victorious, Kobayashi will stay involved in community service in some capacity and “take baking classes at KCC.”
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