City Council District 6 candidate Frank Lavoie discusses the issues

HONOLULU—There are now 10 candidates for Honolulu City Council District 6, as of the Office of Elections Candidate Report on July 23. The Hawaii Independent submitted the same list of questions to each of the 10 candidates. Responses will be published in the order in which they are received.

District 6 is comprised of a portion of Makiki, Downtown Honolulu, Punchbowl, Liliha, Pauoa Valley, Nuuanu, Alewa Heights, Papakolea, Kalihi Valley, and a portion of greater Kalihi.

Candidate Frank Lavoie is the current chair of the Downtown Neighborhood Board. Lavoie is a staunch opponent of rail and spoke out against the proposed River Street Housing Project. Lavoie also assisted in the development of a Special Area Plan for Chinatown.

What do you feel is the single most important issue you will face as a Councilmember if elected?
Our budget is the number one issue. The government must cut back spending just like the hurting families of Oahu. The City must realize what it can and cannot afford. The bankrupting potential of rail should be first on the list to be cancelled to protect the wallets of the residents of Honolulu. Property taxes must not be raised. Hawaii already has a high cost of housing and taxes should not make it harder for those priced out of owning a home. User fees must only be used for the service being provided and not raided for other purposes. Even then, we must keep control over the bureaucrats, as shown by the Haunama Bay debacle. Our anti-business reputation is made worse with new taxes.

What would you change in the way that issue is being handled by the Council presently?
I would oppose tax increases and force the government to do more with less, as any private sector business must. In addition, the City should concentrate on the basics such as roads and infrastructure, not the $5.5 billion rail boondoggle. One must ask my opponents, all the major ones are pro-rail, how they plan to cover the expenses of the rail in addition to their hollow promises of fixing our third world infrastructure.

What is another important issue in your District?
The City roads are horrendous. We collect enough taxes on our vehicles and gas to have world class roads, the City just isn’t doing it. It is quite pitiful that our roads are barely competitive with third world nations. It is an embarrassment. We should do the basic infrastructure perfectly, before spending billions on a rail line that will only siphon off even more money from basic City services. One cannot take seriously the pro-rail candidates who want to fix the roads and infrastructure and still pay for the rail.

What is different about your approach to that issue?
I would make sure that fees on vehicles and gas actually goes towards roads. We pay gas and vehicle registration fees and should expect those fees to pay for our roads.

Who is your largest campaign contributor?
Concerned citizens of Oahu that are sick and tired of tax and fee increases, corruption and an out-of-touch government. The opponents of rail have flocked to my campaign as well.

What’s your strategy in dealing with the “homeless”?
The City’s main goal should be to provide a comprehensive plan for low and moderate income housing to prevent homelessness and provide a way off the streets. The River Street Housing fiasco wasted time and money on a program the community did not want. Let’s be proactive with plans that can help and gather public support. The existing City owned properties must be kept affordable for perpetuity.

What’s your stance on rail? Can Hawaii afford it?
We cannot afford rail. I am the only major District 6 candidate that opposes the rail. The GET increase has already sucked $536 million from our residents, money that they could use to improve their own lives and to create employment opportunities locally. The cost of over $5,000 per man, woman and child on Oahu is too much. We cannot put our children into such debt. No rail line in the world has reduced auto traffic along the same corridor. The City agrees that traffic will be worse even if the rail is built. No passenger rail line in the world pays for itself. We will have to heavily subsidize the rail. That means cannibalizing TheBus, raising fares and tax increases to cover the costs.

The rail is not green either. It will run off our electric grid, which is still 90 percent foreign carbon fuels. Even worse, the rail infrastructure (engines, carriages and tracks) need to be replaced every 30 years at a tremendous cost in energy and finances. Combined with the waste water consent decree price tag of several billion dollars, rail is an impossibility for a city as small as ours. We will never dig ourselves out of this financial time bomb. Say no to rail.

How do we get Hawaii residents active in the elections process?
Candidates need to be open about what they stand for and not offer empty platitudes. I have a contract with the voters on my website votelavoie.com. You may not agree with me on every issue, but at least you know where I stand.

Residents are turned off when they cannot find out about the candidates they are supposed to vote on. A review of the mailers by my fellow opponents offer nothing on what they will do on policy issues. How are voters to decide on candidates? The other candidates are not highlighting any of their positions so voters will be turned off, refusing to vote for someone they know nothing about.

New faces and ideas will reinvigorate the electorate.

How can we help Hawaii’s small businesses to stay alive during these hard times?
My wife and I own a small restaurant in Downtown Honolulu, Kafe Europa. We have experienced the difficulties of being entrepreneurs and starting a business as well as suffering during the recession. This first hand experience in the private sector will give me the guidance to help promote all small businesses.

We need to keep the tax burden low, not only for the business, but also for consumers so that they have money to spend locally. New regulations should be avoided except when essential.

For more information, visit votelavoie.com

See the responses of all District 6 candidates:

Lawrence Fenton 1| 2
Timothy Garry
Shawn Hamamoto 1
Frank Lavoie 1
Carlton Middleton 1
Sesnita Moepono
Dennis Nakasato 1
Tulsi Gabbard Tamayo 1
Robert Vieira 1
Christopher Wong 1