Editor’s note: For Hawaii’s Aug. 10 Primary Election, Civil Beat asked candidates to answer some questions about where they stand on various issues and what their priorities will be if elected.

The following came from Choon James, candidate for Honolulu mayor. Her opponents include Rick Blangiardi, Duke Bourgoin and Karl Dicks.

Go to Civil Beat’s Election Guide for general information, and check out other candidates on the Primary Election Ballot.

1. What’s the biggest issue facing the City and County of Honolulu and what will you do about it?

Oahu has an oligarchy that holds the power, money, opportunities and decision-making. Too many decisions are made against local residents’ best interests.

Residents are frustrated with the disconnect at City Hall. Property taxes escalated exponentially. Rail costs are out of control. Residents work two to three jobs. Seniors work to survive. Businesses and communities do not feel safe. I’m from Singapore and I know what a safe, clean, beautiful, efficient and thriving city is.  

City Hall cannot be managed by social media narratives that the oligarchy wants us to hear.  

Here are three transformational actions that were hidden from the public:

The mayor’s legislative packages asking to be the police, judge, jury and executioner — non-judicial power of sale based on fines from DPP. 

Everyone is for “affordable” housing. But SB 3202 upends home rule and residential communities. This destroys the Oahu general plan, ordinances and land-use planning.

City Hall bullies residents too much and has no compassion.

I’ve been bird-dogging Honolulu Hale for 20 years. We must have an open and transparent government.

I will post names of all visitors to the Mayor’s Office. 

I do not accept any donations from lobbyists and PACs. 

I will always put residents first, not the oligarchy.

2. Year after year, we talk about the need to diversify the economy away from a reliance on tourism. Do you think that is even possible and if so what would you do?

Yes, it’s very possible. The free market is best left to the people without too much government interference.

I want to be the mayor who lifts all boats.

Resist the status quo. We need to create more equal opportunities. The oligarchy that controls the power, money and opportunities does not serve Oahu’s public purpose.

“Residents first” will support our local folks first, be it start-ups, entrepreneurship, agri-horticulture, film, construction, development, distance work and countless others.

Many local residents have obtained amazing success. The best part is they’re willing to share their knowledge and experience.

I want to be the mayor who is inclusive and fair and sees Oahu as one community to lift. The resources of the city should be applied across the board; from Waianae to Waimanalo to Waipahu to Waipio to Waikane.

I’m a small businesswoman myself. I understand our entrepreneurs and corporate business. The opportunities are endless if we help each other out. 

3. In Hawaii, the term affordable housing has lost its meaning. What would you do to help people buy homes or move into rental units?

Change begins with questioning. How many billions of dollars has Oahu received from the federal, state, county and private funding for the past 10 years?

Is Oahu obligated to provide “housing” for every resident who comes here?

What is the definition of a “Hawaii resident”?

How “affordable” is “affordable”?

Short-term “bandage job” or long-term planning for housing?

Why is the “affordable” Kokua Hale building struggling to get renters in Chinatown?

The “Singapore Housing Model” is often quoted by politicians in Hawaii. Singapore has a Central Provident Fund for Education, Health and Housing. All employees pay into this fund. The Singapore government invests this fund and pays positive annual dividends.

Note that Singapore does not have lobbyists or developers or unions as their middleman in its housing agenda.

There is no one magic bullet to “affordable” housing. This is a worldwide problem. Oahu competes with international and out-of-state rich investors due to the U.S. Constitution.

I’ve been in residential real estate for over 30 years. There are preparations needed for qualifications into homeownership or rentals.

“Putting residents first” also means local building. Financial and real estate industries have first opportunities, not out of state, to help Oahu’s housing needs.

4. The city wanted to eliminate short-term rentals from neighborhoods because they brought overcrowding. On the other hand, a new state law sought to allow for higher density and more construction of homes on the same property, which could bring more congestion to some neighborhoods. How do you balance the need for additional housing and private property rights while preserving the character of neighborhoods?

What is our vision for Oahu? If we don’t stand for something, we will fall for anything. The right hand must know what the left hand is doing. Piece-meal legislation is chaos.

I was the only mayoral candidate who testified that SB 3202 needed much more thoughtful vetting.

No one is against affordable housing. But destroying Oahu’s residential zoning to build on 2,000 square feet was rushed with little public dialogue. There is no assurance of affordable housing for local residents.

DPP already has about 80,000 building entitlements in its books. How about helping with permit approvals?

SB 3202 uprooted Oahu’s land-use plans and ordinances; it cancelled the Oahu General Plan and its Sustainable and Development Community Plans that protect diversification and unique character of Oahu. Countless residents have participated in these land-use plans through the decades. 

The incumbent mayor was silent in his duty to defend county home rule, at the very least. Oahu is not Maui or Kauai or Hawaii Island.

We must consider residents first. Follow the City Charter. Follow the law.

5. What should be the future of the Honolulu rail project? How do you to resolve this seemingly endless drain on public money and continuing delays? Should the line continue to Ala Moana as originally planned and how will you keep operating costs under control?

I’m from Singapore and appreciate its efficient rapid transit and related multi-modal transportation.

Rail needs a major re-assessment. As mayor, I will gather all stakeholders back to the roundtable. Independent contracts, legal, cost-analysis, engineering, budget experts and others will be invited. The public will have its say.

There are no sacred cows. No hiding behind or blaming FTA. I have zero donations from lobbyists or PACs. I can be 100% independent.

No managing Skyline through public relations handlers and insulting the public intelligence.

Natalie Iwasa, CPA and certified fraud examiner, and I have been at this for decades. We know what’s going on.

One tragic part of this boondoggle is Oahu can develop “transit-oriented developments” (TOD) without this fiscal black hole.

The city can create “special districts” for developments. Our local construction and building industries can benefit more without this financial albatross and without losing contracts to foreign players.

Oahu cares about climate crisis issues. But the inconvenient information — portions of the route from Middle Street to Ala Moana Center are in the Honolulu sea level rise inundation zone — is ignored. Why?

Oahu needs transformative leadership for our residents first. Our children must not suffer for our mistakes. Let’s work together.

6. Homelessness remains a problem on Oahu. What should the city be doing differently?

Homelessness is a modern-day plague in many industrialized cities. It’s a complicated curse but we can do a lot in our little island home.

Some honestly say that they cannot solve homelessness or they will be out of a job. Servicers are also frustrated that their frontline insights and suggestions are ignored.

We’re fortunate that we have many wonderful workers who put their heart and soul out to help the less fortunate.

It’s not good for our homeless to live in dire conditions and it’s not good for the public.

One different approach to helping our homeless to heal and cope is structured regenerative farming. This holistic approach provides healing, farming, entrepreneurship and cultural approaches.

Hard-core homeless persons need professional mental institutions and interventions. We must constantly assess these situations and not be controlled by the status quo.

7. What should be done to improve policing and police accountability in Honolulu? Should oversight of the police department be strengthened or reformed?

We love our HPD and other emergency personnel. We cannot pay them and their families enough for their public service. These warriors put their life on the line for public tranquility and peace for our communities. They deserve gratitude and respect.

We want our HPD and other emergency personnel to return home in peace each time they step out of their door.

We must provide them with all the resources and training needed. There can be bad apples in every organization. We must deal fairly and legally with alleged wrongdoing with the Police Commission and SHOPO. We all want to protect and safeguard the public trust in these institutions. No corruption can be tolerated.

Oversight and reform is a constant. We must always assess and improve.

This includes working with the prosecution side. The revolving door between crime, arrest and release is frustrating the public and HPD to no end.

Additionally, we must always focus on root causes of crime and other unrest for preventative measures. Residents, businesses and visitors deserve a safe environment. We must all work together to ensure a safe, prosperous and thriving Oahu. We can.

8. Honolulu has some of the worst traffic congestion in the nation. What should the city do to alleviate congestion?

Oahu is just a little island of 597 square miles. Many of you have observed the patterns and trends in your own communities.

Many residents are frustrated as their first-hand observations are ignored by the politicians and bureaucrats.  


For example, the Honolulu rail that was initially touted for traffic decongestion turned out to offer a 2% decongestion rate! This is a huge truckload of billions of dollars for this antiquated money-guzzling rail.

Residents saw blatant conflicts of interests and corruption. Outsider transportation “experts” became embedded into city management and so on.

The rail plows on despite its never-ending parade of mishaps, engineering mistakes and fiscal struggles. The rail started in 2006 at the price of $2.7 billion. It’s now 2024. The price is now around $12 billion and climbing. It’s incomplete.

The moral of the rail story is: Yes, we need transportation solutions. But we must first have independent consultants with some conscience to not grossly bleed the public treasury.

There is money to be made with transportation projects. But there must be no obscene profiteering and at the expense of causing perpetual burdens on our people for generations. 

9. What more should Honolulu be doing to prepare for the effects of climate change, including sea level rise and threats to the reefs?

Climate change not only encompasses sea level changes and threats to reefs; the multiplier effects could include longer periods of hurricane seasons or rain patterns or cloud cover that could impact vegetation and cause flooding.

The Office of Climate Change and Sustainability has expended much effort in this area. It produced significant guidelines and educational materials for the public. These works are helpful and valuable.

The time to start preparing is now. We need to remember that we live on an island in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean. I have friends who live in Tuvalu and Kiribati and it’s sobering to see the changes. We also import 90 percent of our food.

We will meet with all departments/agencies to synchronize all the city projects and land-use decisions. We will engage with Civil Defense and Emergency Preparedness and others to proactively address these factors to prepare and act for the future.

We must be consistent. We can’t proclaim we’re in a climate crisis and then totally ignore the data that portions of the proposed rail route from Middle Street to Ala Moana will be in the Honolulu sea level rise inundation zone.

10. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to fill vacancies on the police department, the parks department and in many other city agencies. The city is struggling to provide basic services. What would you do to solve this problem and attract qualified people to fill essential services?

I’ve been advocating for public interest at Honolulu Hale for over 20 years. 

This “vacancies” angst has been a constant concern all this time. On the other hand, residents say they don’t get a response or they can’t seem to get an interview.

It’s our 10,000 workers who keep the city in operation. The mayor provides the direction and culture. The mayor could be on vacation and not be missed. 

I will always be respectful of all our city employees. I will always support them in their efforts to make Oahu a safe and efficient place. My door will always be open to their ideas and concerns.

The pay and benefits package is a big consideration. The culture and working conditions are also important.

Over $712 million is earmarked for the Honolulu rail this Fiscal 2025. Imagine when we can contain the rail costs and take care of our employees better.

11. Oahu’s only municipal landfill is due to close in 2028, but the city still doesn’t know where to put the next one. What will you do address this issue?

We’ve been talking about this for decades. Oahu is only an island of about 597 square miles. The Koolau and the Waianae mountain ranges take up 50% of our land surface.

It’s now 2024. We’re still lamenting about landfills and kicking the can down the road.

We were talking with Ernie Lau, our Board of Water engineer, recently about the Red Hill Water contamination and our water resources. 

Water is life. We need to do much more to protect public health, public drinking water and Oahu’s environment. How many landfills can Oahu duplicate?

We must plan for the next seven generations.

On a personal and community level, we can do more. Every time I go to a city convenience center, I see tons of appliances and I wonder if we can support a cottage industry for more repairs and recycling.  

We need to seek federal funds to help us come up with a more serious sustainable plan. Many countries have achieved higher efficiency.

Singapore focuses on recycling and minimizing waste to limit landfill space by incineration at Waste-to-Energy (WtE) plants. Steam from the incineration heat then produces steam that powers turbine-generators to generate electricity. Oahu must act now.

12. What lessons have you learned from the Lahaina fire? What can be done to prevent devastating wildfires on Oahu?

This was not the first time that Lahaina had a fire during the dry season. As expected, no stakeholders wanted to be responsible while the lawsuits fly all over. But we also know that no one had bad intention to cause harm.

Preserving tranquility and safety is fundamental to us all on all different levels. Cities must think of the worse and have a viable plan to address these “Armageddon” situations.

It’s the old Boy Scout law: Be prepared.

We have many experts. Again, we need to listen to all the voices. We’re all living on an island. No one has the monopoly to good ideas and insights. A decision is always better when it’s been through independent dialogue and questioning without fear or favor.

It’s not only wildfire. It could be another epidemic or grid sabotage or water contamination, labor strikes, terrorism, bio warfare and so on.

I believe that good will always shine through darkness. We are all touched and inspired by the humanity and generosity shown by countless people during this horrendous Lahaina disaster. We continue to keep our Lahaina neighbors in our prayers.