Editor’s Note: In September 2012, Civil Beat sent 10 questions to each of the candidates running for Honolulu City Council District 6, covering downtown, Makiki, Nuuanu, Kalihi and nearby areas. The questions and answers are reproduced below in full. Click on each topic listed below to read Civil Beat’s question and the candidate’s response.

• Rail
• Landfill
• Homelessness
• Property Taxes
• Relationship With Mayor
• Plastic Bag Ban
• Community Planning
• Biggest Challenge
• Council Legacy
• Bad Decision

Preferred Candidate Name: Jon Yoshimura

Date of Birth: 03/09/59

Place of Birth/Hometown: Wailuku, Hawaii

Current Profession/Employer: Solar Energy Industry Executive, SolarCity

Education/Alma Mater(s): UH Manoa, B.A. Journalism, William S. Richardson School of Law, J.D.

1. Do you believe that Honolulu should proceed with the 20-mile elevated rail project from East Kapolei to Ala Moana Shopping Center? Why or why not?

Yes, however, the current plan needs improvement. Our chronic traffic problems will not disappear. We need a mass transit approach that doesn’t rely on our overburdened roads. We’ve gone too long with history repeating itself. From the 1970s on, we revisit the rail issue every twenty years. Cost has been the major reason we’ve rejected rail transit in the past. However, if we had built rail in the 1990s, it would have cost less than $2 billion to develop, a price that now seems like a bargain. If we don’t pursue rail today, we will postpone the inevitable, miss out on an opportunity to take advantage of smart growth in the form of Transit Oriented Development, and leave to our children and grandchildren with a future spent wasting time, money, and a decent quality of life stuck in traffic, with solutions that will only grow more costly. ↩ back to top

2. Should the city continue to send municipal solid waste to Waimanalo Gulch Landfill until it reaches capacity, should it site a new landfill elsewhere as soon as possible, or should it pursue a different path? Why?

I believe we need to make good on our promise to close the Waimanalo landfill in Leeward Oahu. I have not come to any firm conclusion on where Oahu’s next landfill should be situated. ↩ back to top

3. Has the sidewalk ban on stored property, in effect for six months, been a success? What should the city be doing to help Honolulu’s homeless population?

No. The city and state need to share responsibility. The roots of homelessness are many, including substance abuse, mental illness, and poverty. While the city has worked to establish a continuum of housing options, from emergency shelter to transitional to low income to market housing to help the homeless find homes, not all are served by such an approach. We need to identify each homeless individual or family and address the root cause of their homelessness to find a lasting solution. I support programs like the one initiated by the John A. Burns School of Medicine that work to address and solve problems that lead to homelessness rather than a cosmetic approach that treats all as if they only need a place to stay. That tactic solves nothing. ↩ back to top

4. Should the city consider eliminating property tax exemptions for homeowners, nonprofits and other special interest groups if it means lowering rates? What other steps should the council take to improve Honolulu Hale’s financial picture?

The city should review all property tax exemptions and determine whether the individual exemptions continue to address the needs or which they were established. However, I would oppose any attempt to rescind the standard homeowner’s exemption which makes home ownership possible for many island families. It helped make the difference between owning and renting for me when I bought my condominium home 25 years ago. We should not take this opportunity away from families trying to buy their first home.

To improve our financial picture, the city should continue to lower its debt service by keeping its CIP budget under control. I would also encourage the city administration to look into renewable energy power purchase agreements and energy saving technologies and strategies to save taxpayer money. And, we can achieve additional savings through the efficient maintenance and operation of the city’s large fleet of trucks, construction equipment and passenger vehicles. ↩ back to top

5. Relations between the mayor and the City Council have been at times contentious. How would you work to improve those relations?

Regular communications and focus on issues and concerns of common interest to build a solid relationship of trust. Exercise civility and mutual respect to protect relationship when holding opposing viewpoints. Having already served on the City Council for eight years, I have first-hand experience of the ups and downs in the relationship between the Council and mayor.

-The Council and mayor must have a clear idea of what their respective roles are in the operation of the city government. More often than not, conflicts are based on one side intruding into the role of the other.

-Communication between the two must be clear and often. Misunderstandings are another reason for conflict. It’s alright to agree to disagree, but there must be a clear understanding of what the disagreement is about.

-Finally, both the Council and mayor must always remember that both work for the people. The people are not interested in who gets credit, only that the job gets done. Making a strong effort to collaborate often results in a productive relationship. ↩ back to top

6. Should the city wait until July 2015 for the recently approved plastic checkout bag ban to take effect, implement something sooner or go a different route? Why?

I would support earlier implementation of the ban if all stakeholders could agree on a planned roll out and would work to develop such an agreement. I would also encourage businesses and consumers to begin promoting and using recyclable shopping bags as soon as possible. ↩ back to top

7. Do the Oahu General Plan and regional planning documents as currently written need to be overhauled to protect agricultural resources and manage growth or are they sufficient as is? What other steps should the city take to control or promote development?

The Oahu General Plan and the regional development/sustainable community plans are sufficient to protect resources and manage growth. These plans are crafted by the Department of Planning and Permitting and then reviewed by the City Council. The public is afforded ample opportunity to learn about the plans and offer their opinions.

Honolulu’s rail project offers a unique opportunity to promote smart development and control urban sprawl. Directed development along a specific route would relieve pressure to develop in more sensitive areas including prime agricultural lands. Members of communities along the rail line participated in the planning of Transit Oriented Development areas around each rail stop. They provided input on acceptable land uses, building heights, transportation and pedestrian flow patterns at each of the stops. ↩ back to top

8. What do you see as the largest long-term challenge facing the city — sewers, water, roads, traffic or something else? What immediate steps will you take to put Honolulu in a stronger position to deal with its largest long-term challenge?

The largest long-term challenge facing the city is the consent decree on our city sewer system. The consent decree mandates the city to take a specific course of action to meet standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency. The cost for the improvements will be borne by Honolulu’s water consumers and real property taxpayers.

The city can take immediate steps to meet this challenge by looking at technologies that would help offset improvement costs. For instance, methane gas is an unavoidable by-product of the sewer system. Methane gas can be burned and converted into electricity to operate our treatment plants.

The technology is in operation at other plant locations on the mainland. The new equipment would pay for itself and later pay for other required improvements. ↩ back to top

9. What would you want to be remembered for as a member of the City Council?

I would like to be remembered as a catalyst for change that improved the lives of Oahu residents, now and in the future. ↩ back to top

10. If you could change one city decision of the last two years, what would it be and why?

The decision to do the required archaeological surveys for the City’s rail project in segments, because it was wrong, will delay the project and increase costs, and because it has seriously eroded the public’s confidence in and support of the rail project. ↩ back to top