Inside Honolulu: Dec. 20
Welcome to Inside Honolulu! The Honolulu City Council has recessed until 2011, but there’s still work to be done. There’s also a council vacancy to be filled, with just over a week until the special election. Civil Beat is reporting from the inside.
Accusations Fly in Special District 1 Election
12:10 p.m.
With just nine days until the special City Council election, candidates are making their final appeals to voters for support. One of the more vocal candidates, Matthew LoPresti, is complaining that opponent Kioni Dudley is removing his and another candidate’s signs.
“I am essentially out of signs at this point and my sign campaign has been utterly destroyed by thieves,” LoPresti wrote in an appeal to reporters for coverage. “Please know that this comes from and can be verified by another candidate, Jason Espero, who this morning informed me that he saw Kioni Dudley removing both my signs and the signs of Rose Martinez this morning.”
But Espero said that isn’t quite what happened.
“LoPresti twisted what I said, completely,” Espero told Civil Beat. “I didn’t witness any vandalizing of signs. I did not witnessing Dudley remove the signs from the ground, but what I did tell Matthew LoPresti was that when I drove past it was in the ground, and five minutes later it was out of the ground, and Dudley was there sign-waving. It could have been him, but really, I didn’t witness it.”
When asked about the accusation, Dudley laughed heartily.
“You know, anything LoPresti says is a lie,” Dudley said. “God help us. No, good Lord, no I don’t take down other people’s signs.”
Campaign Finance Reports Begin to Roll in
10:31 a.m.
District 1 City Council finance reports are beginning to roll in ahead of tonight’s midnight deadline. Only three candidates of 13 have filed their disclosures thus far. is nearly $21,000 in the red, and is posting a $8,829 deficit. In contrast, has a solid sum of cash on hand with a surplus of more than $6,374.
Rainy Sunday Keeps City Busy, Some Closures Extend to Monday
Though the city closed many facilities early due to the heavy rains and a flash flood threat on Sunday, city workers still were busy responding to weather-related incidents and setting up detours around flooded areas. Officials closed Honolulu Hale, the Honolulu Zoo, Hanauma Bay, and municipal golf courses. Hanauma Bay and at least two city golf courses — West Loch and Ewa Villages — remain closed today.
Catch Up on Previous Editions of Inside Honolulu
Friday, Dec. 17: Mufi gets a new job; Army Corps of Engineers briefs the mayor; Skyrocketing liquor license fees linked to newspaper ad hike and more major steps taken for city rail project and a sewer system overhaul.
Wednesday, Dec. 15: Real property value dips on Oahu; Commission votes to ask prosecutor to explore new allegations against Rod Tam; Former Mayor Mufi Hannemann mum on new job; Judge approves massive consent decree; City delays rolling out new website.
Monday, December 13: City Info-Tech Director Gordon Bruce tweets about hacking, Superbowl; County leaders impatient for House organization; Miniscule voter turnout at Honolulu Hale so far; Mufi Hannemann plans return to City Hall.
