ÌìÃÀÊÓƵ

WASHINGTON — Former Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann says he would bring a focus on tourism to Washington if elected to represent Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional District.

Hannemann was in Washington this week to attend meetings in his capacity as president of the recently renamed Hawaii Lodging & Tourism Association. He also held a fundraiser for his congressional campaign, which was sponsored jointly by the and Marriott Corporation, he said.

Given his public- and private-sector experience, his interest in tourism seems natural.

“To me, that’s a lost opportunity in Washington,” Hannemann told Civil Beat in an interview on Thursday. “People still do not see tourism, in my opinion, as a growth industry, as a good industry for jobs. It’s also a great diplomatic tool for America in the increasingly hostile environment we’re operating in throughout the rest of the world.”

Hannemann acknowledged that Hawaii’s current congressional delegation has made important strides in supporting the tourism industry. He points to the Travel Promotion Act, which he says Sen. Daniel K. Inouye was “very instrumental” in passing. The act, signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2010, established a national tourism board to encourage international travel to the United States.

“For the first time, our country is going to market itself internationally,” Hannemann said. “That has never happened before. Given the competition, you can’t just say, ‘If you have it, they will come.’ But when marketing in Asia, who’s going to benefit most out of that? I see Hawaii. We’ve always been the gateway. Certainly, whatever committee I sit on in Congress, travel and tourism presents itself.”

Hannemann challenges the idea that tourism is an “old industry” in Hawaii, and argues that he’s “injected new life into it.” One example he gives is his mayoral administation’s role in bringing the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit to Hawaii.

“My administration at City Hall worked very hard to secure APEC,” Hannemann said. “To compete internationally — now it’s not just Hawaii through the tourism authority, it’s part of the — I’m poised and positioned at the right time to carry that flag, and create things for our No. 1 industry in Hawaii.”

While Hannemann’s Democratic opponent, Tulsi Gabbard, 30, will have to convince voters that Hawaii needs a fresh perspective in Washington, Hannemann argues that his political connectedness is more of an asset than a liability.

“It hasn’t changed from when I first started coming to Washington in the ’80s: This is a who-you-know kind of town,” Hannemann said. “The more people you know, the more credibility you have. People are able to point to, ‘Oh yeah, I remember when he came to my office, trying to help Hawaii sugar industry. I remember when he came to talk to me about saving Pearl Harbor, I remember when he was going around here and talking about the importance of the tourism.”

But Hannemann says some things in Washington have changed, and they’ve changed for the worse.

“We can’t cut our way to prosperity,” Hannemann said. “The Tea Party folks, all they want to do is cut, cut, cut, cut, cut, cut, cut. That’s their bottom line but what happens to those programs that the American people need? You’ve got to find the right balance.”

Juxtaposing himself against the Tea Party enables Hannemann to play up his Democratic values. His conservative position on some social issues — he has said he would support a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman — may make it difficult for Hannemann to reach Hawaii’s liberal voters. But Hannemann argues that they will see that he is clearly a Democrat.

“The bread-and-butter issues that I will really jump out in front of here in Washington, should I be elected, are issues that have been important to Democrats who are left of center,” Hannemann said. “That includes Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, education, federal grants to help the needy. That’s why, at the end of the day, I’m a Democrat. I grew up in a working class neighborhood. My family was not wealthy.”

When Hannemann crosses the aisle to vote with Republicans, he predicts it will mostly often be on issues related to the military: “I’ve always been a strong supporter of helping the defense industry in Hawaii,” he said. But he also said he brings a more Democratic viewpoint to national security issues.

“Republicans should support the hiring of more police officers, firefighters and teachers,” Hannemann said. “Public safety has always been a big issue for Republicans. You can’t just couch it with, ‘government keeps us safe’ in America, (because) it’s also within our cities.”

Ultimately, Hannemann says he is not specifically at odds with Gabbard or any candidate who may emerge in the race. Instead, his focus is squarely on the nation’s capital.

“I’m running against Tea Party folks who have really, in my mind, changed the culture of how you do business in this town,” Hannemann said. “And it’s not sending a very positive message to people throughout America, let alone Hawaii. I’m not running against anybody. My feeling is that I’m running to get to Washington to change the agenda in Congress.”