With an eroding shoreline and high-rise construction cranes in the background, members of the Sierra Club of Hawaii and Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell gathered Tuesday at Ala Moana Beach Park to talk politics.

Caldwell noted how the environmental group did not endorse him when he ran for mayor in 2010 and 2012. But this time he has their backing.

The mayor said it’s because in part that the club likes his policies on “keeping the city city” by controlling urban sprawl.

There is also shared support for passing Charter Amendment No. 7 calling for creation of a city Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency.

The club’s Anthony Aalto said the mayor and the group did not always see eye to eye in the past, pointing to the controversial development projects Koa Ridge and Hoopili.

But that’s “water under the bridge,” he explained, noting that the mayor said he was open to discussing the Envision Laie project that supporters see as welcome development for jobs and homes while opponents worry about more urban sprawl and ecological and cultural damage.

Aalto also praised Caldwell for his commitment to not build another fossil fuel-burning power plant and to convert city vehicles to make them run clean.

Asked about the Sierra Club’s endorsement of his opponent, Djou said climate change is serious but he did not want to add another layer of bureaucracy by creating a new city office.

He also said Caldwell had essentially flipped his position on Envision Laie just to get the club’s backing.

In other political news, the Hawaii Republican Party has been telling supporters that the mayor is moonlighting on voters by earning income from Territorial Savings Bank.