Caldwell Opens Campaign Headquarters
The Honolulu mayor is running for re-election on a platform that says he’s delivered on housing, homelessness, sewers, parks, road, buses and — yes — rail.
What do the people of Oahu want?
They want toilets to work when they flush them. They want roads to be smooth when they drive them. They want homeless military veterans taken care of.
Kirk Caldwell, the mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, identified those priorities Saturday and said he believes his administration is delivering on essential services and more.
At the official opening of his Nimitz Center campaign headquarters, he told supporters that his re-election is about “plans, progress and people.â€
Caldwell cited a lengthy list of accomplishments during his first term, including these:
- repaving more than 1,040 miles of roadway
- building and repairing public parks and playgrounds
- placing 176 people into permanent housing
- restoring nine cancelled bus routes and the creation of two more
- developing bike lanes in urban Honolulu and some neighborhoods
The mayor also believes he has made progress on the Honolulu rail project, as controversial as that project has become.
Rail, said Caldwell, is “worth fighting for. I have never strayed from pushing it, from my days in the House to the city.â€
On hand for the headquarters opening were Caldwell’s deputy managing director, Georgette Deemer, Transportation Director Mike Formby, information officer Andrew Pereira, Honolulu City Council members Kim Pine and Brandon Elefante, state Sen. Clarence Nishihara and Gary Gill, whose résumé in politics and government is ever growing.
As of this writing, a name challenger to the mayor has yet to formally declare his or her intentions. The primary is Aug. 13.
