Ala Wai Flood Control Project Looms Large In District 5 Council Race
Voters in District 5 will choose from a recent community activist, a seasoned political veteran or a longtime legislative staffer.
A trio of candidates is vying to succeed Honolulu City Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi and represent District 5, a dense slice of town that includes Manoa, Palolo and most of the Ala Wai watershed.
It鈥檚 the district most affected by the controversial Ala Wai flood control project, which met widespread community resistance last year. Perhaps it鈥檚 no surprise then that one of the project鈥檚 most outspoken opponents, Dave Watase, is in the race as a political newcomer.听
Joining him is one of the state鈥檚 most seasoned political veterans — Rep. Calvin Say. The former House speaker has represented his Palolo-area legislative district for more than four decades. Now, he aims to make a switch to the council.
Longtime local legislative staffer and attorney Philmund “Phil” Lee rounds out the trio. Lee, a frequent candidate for higher office going back to the early 1990s, looks to offer the district鈥檚 voters an alternative to what he described as local 鈥減ay-to-play鈥 political culture.
The centrally located district also includes parts of St. Louis Heights, McCully-Moiliili and Kakaako — as well as the University of Hawaii Manoa.
Watase, a retired engineer, was a member of , which secured a court injunction against the flood control project鈥檚 proposed network of basins, channels and walls throughout Makiki, Manoa, Palolo and Waikiki pending further environmental review.
Without that opposition effort, 鈥淚 would probably be non-existent鈥 as a council candidate, Watase said.
鈥淚鈥檓 really not a political kind of guy … I don鈥檛 like to get into arguments. But this is what basically opened the door to me to get involved,” he said.
He said that he eventually started to see similarities between the flood control opposition and community pushback against other projects at Sherwood Forest and Ala Moana Beach Park. He called 鈥渢ransparency and accountability鈥 his top issues.
Say, meanwhile, has been eyeing the open council seat — and a move to Honolulu Hale — since at least February.听
On Monday, Say said that his legislative office often gets calls from constituents about city issues, such as potholes, sewer lines and parks.
鈥淚 would like to take a much more active role鈥 in those issues, Say said. He flagged the flood control project, landslides in the back of Palolo Valley and homelessness as the top issues to address.听
鈥淚 truly believe it is helping,鈥 he said of the city鈥檚 so-called sit-lie ordinance, which prohibits residents from sitting or lying in certain areas as a means to address homelessness. Say said he鈥檇 also like to help guide the city鈥檚 finances through the COVID-19 crisis.
Phil Lee鈥檚 career as a local legislative aide goes back to the early 1990s, when he served as a deputy corporation counsel for the city.听
鈥淎s a legislative staffer, I have a lot of knowledge on the issues — but I don鈥檛 have a lot of … name recognition,鈥 he said Monday.
Lee said he then went on to work for former state Rep. Terry Nui Yoshinaga and played a role crafting .听
鈥淚t was a massive undertaking — something I鈥檓 very proud of doing,” he said.
More recently he鈥檚 worked for Rep. Rida Cabanilla, he said, but he left in May to avoid any perceived conflict of interest while running for office.
The Oahu native has run for higher office numerous times, including races against political heavyweights such as Ed Case and Kirk Caldwell to represent Manoa in the state House.听
He said that he鈥檚 consistently pledged to spend less than $1,000 on each of those campaigns. His top priority, Lee said, is to help residents stay afloat economically amid the pandemic.
鈥淚 don’t know if my name can get out there because I pledged not to spend more than $1,000,鈥 Lee said. “I鈥檓 not beholden to anybody.鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 very challenging,鈥 he added. 鈥淚鈥檓 just trying to give the people a choice.”
Say Leads In Campaign Cash
Say, who鈥檚 been in state office since 1976, holds a sizable fundraising lead in the council race. he’s received more than $34,000 and spent more than $21,000 since January.听
He’s seen widespread support from local trade unions. Political action committees representing local plumbers, carpenters, engineers, longshoremen and ironworkers have all donated to Say this year, .
He has a campaign balance of $3,696 largely due to in 2015.
Watase, meanwhile, has raised more than $20,000 and spent nearly $7,000 on the race, . Architect Scott Wilson is listed as his largest donor, giving the campaign nearly $4,000.
Overall, his campaign account shows a deficit of just over $900, however, because he鈥檚 loaned his campaign $15,000, .
鈥淚t鈥檚 not easy and if I didn鈥檛 have the resources — it鈥檚 tough,鈥 Watase said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 have the name recognition that Calvin has.鈥
Lee doesn鈥檛 show any campaign donations or spending.
