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Welcome to Inside Honolulu! It’s a new week at Honolulu Hale, and Civil Beat is reporting from the inside.

4:09 p.m. Mayor Keeps Hannemann-Era Appointees Out of Spotlight

With lei-adorned city workers and the mayor in pinstripes, Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle‘s Tuesday afternoon news conference had all of its usual trappings. So why didn’t the mayor announce some of his most notable picks for leadership?

The mayor confirmed to Civil Beat that he has asked acting Transportation Director Wayne Yoshioka to stay in that Cabinet post permanently, and Yoshioka attended the conference — donning a suit instead of his usual aloha shirt — but stayed out of the spotlight.

“It’s a timing thing,” Carlisle explained. “If you throw everybody in at once, then people get lost.”

But also absent from the announced leadership line-up were the following leadership picks, who — like Yoshioka — were appointed by Carlisle’s predecessor, former Mayor Mufi Hannemann:

• James Ireland, Director of Emergency Services
• Collins Lam, Director of Design and Construction
• Gail Haraguchi, Director of Customer Services

“There’s a whole different reason for that,” Carlisle acknowledged.

Asked if the reason was to downplay the fact that he has tapped several Hannemann-era leaders despite his promise of change at City Hall, Carlisle smiled broadly and stayed quiet for a moment.

“No comment,” he said.

All nominees must be approved by the City Council, which likely won’t happen until early 2011.

3:35 p.m. Carlisle Announces Two Picks for Directors, Six Deputies

Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle introduced his picks for eight leadership positions, including two directors and six deputies. As we reported he would two weeks ago, Carlisle tapped Sam Moku to lead the Department of Community Services.

The mayor picked long-time Parks and Recreation assistant Gary Cabato as director of that department. Cabato’s appointment comes on the heels of a surprise resignation by Parks Director Lester Chang, who publicly complained about the mayor’s lack of support for his department.

“I’ve supported Lester for his whole tenure as director,” Cabato said. “Whatever difference he had is between him and the administration. We’re officially doing the transition. It’s been very cordial, very professional, and I like it.”

The mayor also announced the following deputy appointments:

• Bridget Holthus as deputy director of the Department of Community Services. Holthus comes to the city from her job as an assistant to the Hawaii Attorney General.

• Albert Tufono as deputy director of the Department of Parks and Recreation. Tufono has chaired the Hawaii Paroling Authority for seven years.

• Bill Balfour as special assistant in the Department of Parks and Recreation. Balfour served as Parks and Recreation director for eight years under former Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris. His wife, Dee Balfour, worked closely with Carlisle during his mayoral campaign.

• Lori Kahikina-Moniz as deputy director of the department of Design and Construction. She has served since 2006 as collections chief at the Honolulu Department of Environmental Services.

• KaiNani Kraut as deputy director of the Department of Transportation Services. Kraut has served as a transportation engineer for the Federal Highway Administration,

• Forest Frizzell as deputy director of the Department of Information Technology. Frizzell most recently served as an account executive for the Hawaii company

12:23 p.m. City Officials Angered Over Federal Mandate That Would Require Replacing All Street Signs

Honolulu may have to comply with a federal mandate that would require changing every street sign from all capital to mostly lowercase, reflective letters by 2018.

“Of all the harebrained ideas,” Mayor Peter Carlisle told Civil Beat Tuesday afternoon. “Do they have any idea how much that would cost us?”

The idea is to help drivers read signs more easily, but cash-strapped cities across the country are balking at the requirement. The U.S. Department of Transportation it is extending the public comment period as a result.

“Safety is our priority, but so is good government,” Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez wrote in . “Listening to the public helps to ensure both.”

City Council Chairman Nestor Garcia said the possible mandate is alarming.

“This is how they get you, they give you federal money and then they make you do this,” Garcia told Civil Beat. “But my roadways are not built with federal money. They’re all (maintained with funds allocated for the Capital Improvement Plan), so it’s bond money. That might be a way out. But I’m not sure.”

11:28 a.m. Carlisle To Offer Another Hannemann-Era Appointee, Wayne Yoshioka, Cabinet Post

Mayor Peter Carlisle is asking acting Transportation Director Wayne Yoshioka to stay on in his post permanently. Yoshioka was initially asked to serve as director temporarily, through January.

Former Mayor Mufi Hannemann tapped Yoshioka in 2007. This would mark another in a string of Hannemann-era Cabinet posts that Carlisle has maintained. Carlisle will likely make the announcement this afternoon, along with these other permanent picks — all hired by Hannemann – Civil Beat reported last week:

• James Ireland, Director of Emergency Services
• Collins Lam, Director of Design and Construction
• Gail Haraguchi, Director of Customer Services

In October, Carlisle nominated four other Hannemann-era leaders:

• David Tanoue as director of the Department of Planning and Permitting
• Tim Steinberger as director of Environmental Services
• Noel Ono as director of Human Resources
• Gordon Bruce as Director of Information Technology

The mayor told Civil Beat Tuesday morning he will announce “seven or eight” Cabinet picks Tuesday afternoon. His personnel strategy thus far runs counter to what he promised at his swearing in seven weeks ago:

“I was put here because I promised change and I plan to deliver,” Carlisle said that day. “That will not necessarily be something comfortable. It may not necessarily be something popular. But it’s something that was asked for by the citizens of this city and they are going to get it. Change is going to come and change is now.”

Candidates Describe Greatest Challenges, Including Public Speaking

Eight District 1 City Council candidates gave divergent responses to a question about the greatest challenge they face — the only question provided to candidates ahead of time — in a Hawaii Public Radio forum Tuesday night.

For the two whose answers were most similar, the common theme was the challenge in answering the question itself. Though succinctly described balancing the budget as a challenge, she concluded by identifying “public speaking” as her biggest challenge “on a personal basis.”

“I know it is not my strongest point, but being eloquent is not guaranteed for making the work done,” Martinez said. “Quiet but effective, that is me.”

struggled with identifying any challenge, and said he misinterpreted the question before declining to answer.

“As far as weakness and a challenge, I really think that getting—” Lewis paused. “This is a very difficult question, I am really drawing a blank here. So let me just say thank you.”

Other candidates’ responses ran the gamut from spending to taxing, speeding up development, and changing the approach to development altogether.

identified fees and taxes as the biggest challenge, promising “a tax freeze for every working family, enough is enough.”

cited “prioritizing our expenses” as the biggest challenge.

said he is committed to taking on the challenge of “trying to get the council to change its whole way of approving projects,” emphasizing that “each project we approve affects the entire island.”

said the budget challenge boils down to advancing the city’s rail project. “The construction of the fixed-rail system that has been voted on and approved by the people will have a multiplier effect improving all segments of our community,” Kahele said.

cited traffic as the biggest problem —  “I live in Waianae, and you all know that I am coming farther than you” — but argued for a cheaper, at-grade rail system.

took a more abstract tack, and said his biggest challenge is to “restore trust and honor to city government.”

Fourteen candidates are running for the District 1 seat. Ballots will be mailed to voters starting next week, and the special election concludes Dec. 29.

District Residency Issue Revived in Candidate Forum
Residency surfaced as an issue in the Hawaii Public Radio Council District 1 forum Monday night. Candidates also discussed community issues like an absence of affordable housing, homelessness, transportation and development. But the eight candidates present, of 14 total, each went on the record about how long they’ve lived in the district, an issue that has emerged in the race since filed two complaints alleging opponents lied about their residences. It turns out, LoPresti has only lived in District 1 since mid-September, when he moved there from Aiea.

“Like many people in our community, I represent the new growing population,” LoPresti said. “Unfortunately, I think that population has been underrepresented.”

Here’s how the other candidates who participated in the forum answered:

“I’ve lived in the district over 37 years. I’ve lived in Kapolei. I lived there before Kapolei was even built… I’ve seen a lot of changes happening to our community, mostly positive changes.”

“My family first moved to Ewa Beach in 1989. I started my education at Ewa Beach Elementary.”

“Since 1990… I’ve been out and up and around on the coast for the past 20 years.”

“I moved into the district in February of 1997.”

“I moved there two years ago. But 20 years ago, I was delivering produce from a farm in Waianae.”

“For the last 25 years … I have been living there since the sugar cane plantation, when the sugar cane burned and all the ashes would blow into your house.”

“I am in the same House District as much of the district, but Makakilo is outside of the district … So, on the filing date (Nov. 19), I moved into the district myself. As long as I am in this race and as long as I serve on the City Council, I pledge to make my permanent first home in this district.”

Catch up on previous editions of Inside Honolulu
November 29: District 1 candidate files second residency challenge and claims his wife was targeted for retribution for complaint, Mayor Carlisle remains on Kauai a day ahead of planned Cabinet announcements.

November 24: City Council member Rod Tam pleaded guilty to 26 counts of theft, Kirk Caldwell tells Civil Beat “everything is on the table” for his political future, Mayor Peter Carlisle stays mum on the sudden resignation of Parks director Les Chang.

November 23: Mayor Peter Carlisle nominated three more Hannemann-era department directors for permanent gigs, city leaders discuss public safety threats, City Council Chair Nestor Garcia explains the City Council reorganization.

November 22: City Council member Gary Okino leads council to kill leaf blower ban, City Council approves five nominations for key leadership, opts to audit city use of bicycle funds, and accepts $350,000 gift from Walmart.