If you believe the city is in good shape and you want more of the same, then the status quo candidates are your choice.

If you believe it is fiscally responsible to spend $6 billion to reduce traffic by 1%, and if you believe it is fiscally responsible for a rail project to cost us over $800,000 per car it removes from the road, then Mr. Carlisle who wants to build rail all around the island is your choice.

If you want a mayor who lives in a $1,800,000 home and pays $200 per year in property taxes, and ran a 鈥済ravy train鈥� campaign then Mr. Caldwell is your choice of self-serving politician.

If however you believe that what Honolulu needs right now is a straight talking Engineer, I am your mayor.

If you believe we need to fix our leaking sewers and to repair our water mains which break every day, I am your mayor.

If you believe that the engineer who wrote the book on transportation can reduce traffic congestion at a price we can afford, I am your mayor.

My vision for Oahu in the next 50 years is a sustainable community of no more than one million people. An island that, if correctly designed, will have enough water, enough transportation and enough energy to support its people and its visitors.

Our island does not need landmarks like the Empire State Building or the Golden Gate Bridge. Our island itself is an iconic natural landmark. Our man-made infrastructure must live up to natural beauty that is Oahu鈥檚 aina.

The next 10 years provide us with a golden opportunity to set the foundation for Oahu’s next 50 to 100 years.

It is an opportunity to fix water, sewer and road infrastructure, one region at a time, one pass at a time, for good. It is an opportunity to involve innovative contracting and financing so that the projects are delivered on time and on budget. We can’t afford business as usual. New and rehabilitated sewers, sewage treatment, water mains and roads alone come up to about 15 billion dollars.

If we do them the right way then we’ll form a healthy foundation for vibrant civic life and a robust economy. If we do them the wrong way, then the cost may double and sink Oahu in red ink, resulting in partly finished projects and endless lane closures.

While the basic infrastructure is modernized we must begin to deploy traffic congestion, trash management, energy solutions and hurricane resilience measures. Electric cars, High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes, reuse of recyclables and trash exportation, and fossil-free energy are in Oahu’s future. No elevated trains should be allowed to permanently scar Oahu, although the possibility of revitalizing the Oahu Rail Line for light rail service from Waianae to the Airport should be explored.

Oahu needs to be well equipped and well prepared to withstand a hurricane. Regional survival plans (e.g., resiliency plans for Kaneohe, Kaimuki and Kapolei), second access to Waianae, “plugs” so that Navy submarines can provide electric power to multiple areas of Oahu, and partial undergrounding of utilities and tree growth management along critical arterial streets is needed, along with routine channel and stream maintenance.

If your next Mayor does it right in the next 10 years, then the chances for sustainable prosperity are great. I am the only candidate with the skill set to fix Oahu鈥檚 infrastructure. If you believe that the city needs the skills of an engineer and not of an attorney, I am your mayor.

The post Why I Would Make the Best Mayor – Panos Prevedouros appeared first on 天美视频.