City Council: Jonathan Lai may have an advantage in temporary District IV appointment

HONOLULU—Jonathan Lai was nominated to fill Djou’s City Council seat and five others emerged as front-runners at a special committee hearing yesterday in a packed room in Honolulu Hale.

The Honolulu City Council had received 27 applications for the vacant East Honolulu District IV Council seat, which stretches from Waikiki to Hawaii Kai. Such a strong interest in the temporary appointment may be a reflection of increased public concern with several key issues dominating our island’s current political landscape. What makes this particular selection unique is that eight people who do not live in the district, namely the other council members, will select the candidate. What this means, in practical terms, is that the winning candidate has to win over the city council rather than his constituents. 

Not all 27 candidates were present and one, Marsha Rose Joyner, who was there, withdrew her nomination due to “unforeseen” events. The candidates, who spoke in alphabetical order, were given two minutes to present to the council and the public. City Council Chair Todd Apo spoke of the broad spectrum of individuals being considered and their varied backgrounds, and assured the room that the goal of the council was to make the best selection possible. It was suggested that rather than simply rehashing their resumes, the applicants should speak to how they planned to engage the community in the coming six months.

That said, most of the candidates focused on their professional experience, political or otherwise. Some emphasized their political acumen; others claimed no previous desire to be a politician and presented their lack of political pedigrees as an asset. Given the current economy, they tended to play up their abilities to understand finance and budgets, while the short length of the appointment (in theory, chosen so the individual could vote on the budget on June 9, the same day he is selected) created a climate where many candidates underscored the importance of being able to “hit the ground running.”

The proposed 1.8 billion operating budget, rail, infrastructure concerns, education, and the fireworks ban were the most consistent themes throughout the candidates’ testimonies. 

A minority of candidates were asked follow up questions by the council, and, as it turned out, nearly all of these were ultimately selected as front runners. Most of the follow up questions again pertained to the budget, such as whether the candidate felt comfortable voting on it and what, if anything, should be amended. Other popular questions related to the candidate’s views toward rail and the fireworks ban (they were largely pro-rail and pro-fireworks ban).

After the candidates’ testimonies were complete, the public had a chance to testify on a candidate’s behalf. Again, most of those who had people speaking on their behalf ended up being part of the top six.

At the close of the meeting there was a motion to put Jonathan Lai’s name on a committee draft of a resolution scheduled for a vote June 9. Chair Apo recommended him and Ann Kobayashi said she supported him since Djou recommended him and he would be filling his seat.

Lai, who was the only candidate to be publicly endorsed by Djou, stated that he was “honored” to be supported by someone who had held office unopposed for seven years. He also stressed that he had no intention of running for the seat in the fall and that he saw his role as a “bridge” during this short transition (the term ends January 2), meaning that he did not wish to “disrupt” the progress that has been made to date.

When asked, for example, about his view towards rail, Lai claimed it was “irrelevant.” While the “yes” vote on rail expressed the support of the majority of the population, he realizes that district four was largely against it. Therefore, he feels a “measured approach” is required as to how to best proceed.

While no one opposed Lai being on the committee draft, Rod Tam expressed some concern and ultimately five other names were proposed by the council members for a floor draft. In other words, they will be on the agenda and have an opportunity to be considered against Lai if they have the support of at least five council members. These candidates include former Honolulu Police Chief Lee Donohue, Board of Education member Donna Ikeda, former Djou chief of staff Lori Wingard, and former legislators Carl Takamura and Brian Yamane.

Ikaika Anderson proposed Ikeda, Donahue, and Yamane; Nestor Garcia added Wingard and Takamura. However, the door has not closed for the remaining twenty-one candidates, either, as Cachola reminded the crowd.

“Walk-in proposals” are also allowed on voting day, the catch being that they would require six votes for consideration rather than five. Apo confirmed this by saying that what came out of this meeting was “not a done deal” and that the public would benefit from the additional days of deliberation.