Here’s another possible candidate for mayor of Honolulu: Peter Savio.

Savio, 67, is president and CEO of the Savio Group of Companies and has decades of experience in real estate development and sales in Hawaii.

He said he’s been approached by folks around the island to consider challenging Mayor Kirk Caldwell.

“It’s because of how I look at things,” he said Friday. “I have different solutions and I see different problems.”

Savio said he is not a politician and does not see himself officially joining the race.

Peter Savio
Peter Savio 

“In the end, there are so many other people better than me,” he said.

But he argued that the city could use more creativity in solving its problems.

In his view, affordable housing and homelessness were problems in Honolulu when he was growing up in the 1960s. He said nothing has changed.

His solution: do away with the large rental market that only enriches landlords and landowners, and work toward creating housing that people can buy and own.

“On the whole, I don’t think Caldwell has been a bad mayor,” he said. “I just think he’s focused on the wrong things. He’s focused on mass transit and infrastructure, but he should be focused on what can be done to make life better for residents.”

About the Author