Municipal elections in Honolulu, Hawaii (2016)
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| 2016 Honolulu elections |
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| Election dates |
| Filing deadline: June 7, 2016 |
| Primary election: August 13, 2016 General election: November 8, 2016 |
| Election stats |
| Offices up: Mayor and city council |
| Total seats up: 6 |
| Other municipal elections |
| U.S. municipal elections, 2016 |
Five of the nine city council seats were also up for election. District 1 incumbent Kymberly Marcos Pine faced three opponents in the primary. She received 65 percent of the vote, winning re-election without having to run in the general. Ann Kobayashi (District 5), Joey Manahan, (District 7), and Ron Menor (District 9) each faced one challenger in November, and the District 3 councilman Ikaika Anderson ran unopposed. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was June 7, 2016.[1]
Elections
General election
Mayor
Note: Although elections in Honolulu are nonpartisan, Ballotpedia identified the partisan affiliation of the candidates in this race for informational purposes.
☑ Kirk Caldwell 
(i)
☐ Charles Djou 
District 5
☐ Kimberly Case
☑ Ann Kobayashi (i)
District 7
☑ Joey Manahan (i)
☐ Chace Shigemasa
District 9
☑ Ron Menor (i)
☐ Emil Svrcina
Primary election
Mayor
☐ Kurt Baker
☐ Zachary Burd
☑ Kirk Caldwell (i)
☐ Ernest Caravalho
☐ Peter Carlisle
☑ Charles Djou
☐ Lawrence Friedman
☐ Tim Garry
☐ Ronald Hochuli
☐ Lillian Lai Lam Wang Hong
☐ Mike Powers
District 1
☐ Marc Anthony
☐ Tom Berg
☐ Kioni Dudley
☑ Kymberly Marcos Pine (i)
District 3
☑ Ikaika Anderson (i)
Elections results
| Mayor of Honolulu, Primary Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Kirk Caldwell Incumbent |
44.61% | 74,062 |
| Charles Djou |
43.69% | 72,532 |
| Peter Carlisle | 9.36% | 15,539 |
| Lillian Lai Lam Wang Hong | 0.69% | 1,140 |
| Ernest Caravalho | 0.47% | 781 |
| Ronald Hochuli | 0.38% | 635 |
| Kurt Baker | 0.22% | 360 |
| Lawrence Friedman | 0.21% | 346 |
| Mike Powers | 0.19% | 317 |
| Tim Garry | 0.13% | 210 |
| Zachary Burd | 0.06% | 97 |
| Total Votes | 166,019 | |
| Source: Hawaii.gov, "Primary Election Official Results," accessed November 28, 2016 | ||
| Honolulu City Council District 1, Primary Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Kymberly Marcos Pine Incumbent |
65.16% | 7,649 |
| Kioni Dudley | 16.94% | 1,989 |
| Tom Berg | 13.67% | 1,605 |
| Marc Anthony | 4.23% | 496 |
| Total Votes | 11,739 | |
| Source: Hawaii.gov, "Primary Election Official Results," accessed November 28, 2016 | ||
Campaign finance
Candidates filed campaign finance reports in 2016 for the periods from January 1 to June 30, July 1 to July 29, and from July 30 to August 13. The first column in the chart below shows how much cash each candidate had on hand on the first of the year. Mayor Kirk Caldwell, the only candidate with an existing war chest, had $1,617,523. The next two columns are the combined amounts of contributions and expenditures from the two filing periods. The chart does not include candidates who did not file reports or whose reports showed that they had not raised nor spent any money.[2]
As of August, Caldwell had spent far more money than any of the other candidates. His campaign spent over $500,000 in July alone. Charles Djou's campaign was busy as well, raising $255,507 during the month of July. This was more than the combined amounts of what Caldwell and Carlisle's campaigns raised during the month.[3] By August 13, 2016, Caldwell's campaign had raised almost $3 million and had spent almost $2.5 million. His general election opponent, Djou, had raised about $650,000 and spent about $500,000.
| Mayoral campaign finance amounts as of August 13, 2016[2] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Jan. 1, 2016 | Contributions | Expenditures |
| Kirk Caldwell (i) | $1,617,523 | $2,908,715 | $2,432,886 |
| Charles Djou | $0 | $653,612 | $506,923 |
| Peter Carlisle | $0 | $69,929 | $52,796 |
| Ernest Caravalho | $0 | $100 | $50 |
| Ronald Hochuli | $0 | $14,400 | $11,025 |
Issues
Mayoral poll
A poll by the Honolulu Civil Beat, published on August 3, showed Djou leading the race by nine points over Caldwell. Because a candidate needed over 50 percent of the vote to win outright in the primary, the poll indicated that two candidates—likely Djou and Caldwell—would advance to the general election.
The poll also asked participants to assign a level of importance to four different issues: the Honolulu Ethics Commission, homelessness, cost of living, and rail. Seventy-five percent gave rail a rating of 1, or "one of the most important" issues. Over 50 percent of respondents said homelessness and the cost of living were also some of the most important issues.
The poll surveyed 851 voters from July 25 to 27.[4]
Rail system
By the time voters approved a city charter amendment in 2008, allowing construction of a 20-mile elevated rail transit system, the debate over a proposed rail system had been ongoing for several decades.[5] The city broke ground on the project in February 2011.[6] The budget was initially projected to be $4.6 billion. By 2016, the budget had increased to $6.7 billion, and the project was at least two years behind schedule. The increased timeline and budget, plus the city's congested traffic and high cost of living, put the rail issue at the center of the 2016 mayoral debate.[7]
The initial plan was to have the rail run from Kapolei to Ala Moana. With the struggle to meet the increased costs, some officials raised the idea of stopping the rail at Middle Street, the 13th out of the 21 planned stops.[8] According to a poll conducted in July 2016, 62 percent of respondents said the rail should go all the way to Ala Moana. Twenty-five percent said it should be ended immediately, and 10 percent thought it should end at Middle Street. Eighty-one percent said that property taxes should not be raised to build past Middle Street. When asked which mayoral candidate was best equipped to handle the project, 43 percent said Djou, 31 percent chose Caldwell, and 15 percent wanted Carlisle.[9] The map below shows the route, with a marker at the Middle Street stop.
Caldwell expressed a desire to finish the rail all the way. He said he was looking for ways to cover the cost of the project. "I've talked with our state leaders -- both at the Legislature and in our business community. I've gone to the developers where rail has run asking how much would they be willing to pay to have stations built on their properties or through their properties," he said.[10]
According to Carlisle's campaign website, he "has consistently supported an elevated rail project from Kapolei to Ala Moana and beyond as a key to Honolulu’s transportation future."[11] As a way to work within the budget, Carlisle proposed finishing the rail with only the bare basics. He supported extending the General Excise Tax and said he would consider raising property taxes as a last resort.[10]
Djou, however, said he would "veto any further tax increases for the rail system."[12] He said he was open to various options for bringing the cost down, including converting some sections into bus rapid transit or bringing the rail cars down to street level. Bus rapid transit meant running buses on the rail guideway and on dedicated bus lanes.[10] In a debate, Caldwell and Carlisle accused Djou of having no plan at all for rail. "I just wish you would level with the people," said the mayor.[13]
Housing and homelessness
In 2015, Hawaii had the highest per capita rate of homelessness among all 50 states. Mayor Caldwell implemented a strategy he called "compassionate disruption" to address homelessness. This approach combined efforts to find housing for chronically homeless individuals with enforcement of laws prohibiting storing property, sitting, or lying on the sidewalk. The city also employed a Housing First program, which Caldwell described as, "you house someone first with their addictions, with their mental illness, and you help them get better."[14]
Both Carlisle and Djou called Caldwell's efforts a failure and pointed out that there was a one percent increase in homelessness from 2015 to 2016. The two agreed that the city should use a "personalized intervention and consequences" strategy, where each homeless person was assessed individually. "What we need to be doing is confronting them and getting counseling for them," said Djou.[14] All three candidates, however, supported laws that prevented people from sitting and lying on the sidewalks.
Djou proposed shifting money going to city initiatives towards nonprofits, while Carlisle proposed teaming up with the medical community to help address homelessness.[15]
Closely related to the problem of homelessness was Honolulu's high cost of living and inadequate amount of affordable housing. In November 2015, the Honolulu Board of Realtors reported that the median price of a single-family home on Oahu was $720,000.[16] For renters, Rent Jungle reported that as of July 2016, the average monthly rent was $1,847 for a one-bedroom unit and $2,771 for a two-bedroom unit.[17][18]
Mayor Caldwell stated that his efforts to expand affordable housing—including introducing and signing a bill allowing homeowners to build small rental units on their property and waiving permitting fees to encourage development—were moving the city in the right direction. During his term, he proposed an affordable housing requirement for any large development. Djou and Carlisle said that too little progress was made during Caldwell's term. Both disapproved of the mayor's idea to establish an affordable housing requirement for developments. Carlisle said such a measure would push the cost of housing up. He supported using existing rules that required developers to subsidize affordable housing with the profits gained through luxury units. Djou proposed reforming the zoning code to allow more urban infill development.[15] "If you look at the McCully-Moiliili area we have lots and lots of low-rises -- two-story and three-story low-rises -- that could easily accommodate more housing stock if it went from a two or three-story to ten or twelve or fifteen story housing stock," he said.[19]
About the city
- See also: Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is a city in Hawaii. It is a consolidated city-county with Honolulu County. The city-county includes the city of Honolulu, the rest of the island of Oahu, and the northwestern Hawaiian Islands, with the exception of the Midway Islands which are controlled by the federal government.[20] As of 2010, its population was 337,256.
City government
- See also: Mayor-council government
The city of Honolulu uses a strong mayor and city council system. In this form of municipal government, the city council serves as the city's primary legislative body while the mayor serves as the city's chief executive.[21]
Demographics
The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau.
| Demographic Data for Honolulu, Hawaii | ||
|---|---|---|
| Honolulu | Hawaii | |
| Population | 337,256 | 1,360,301 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 60 | 6,422 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 17.2% | 25% |
| Black/African American | 2% | 1.8% |
| Asian | 53.2% | 37.8% |
| Native American | 0.1% | 0.3% |
| Pacific Islander | 8% | 10.1% |
| Other (single race) | 0.9% | 1.2% |
| Multiple | 18.4% | 23.9% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 7.3% | 10.5% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate | 89% | 92% |
| College graduation rate | 37.2% | 33% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $71,465 | $81,275 |
| Persons below poverty level | 10.6% | 9.4% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2010). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2014-2019). | ||
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Honolulu Hawaii election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Honolulu, Hawaii | Hawaii | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ City of Honolulu Elections Division, "Election Info," accessed August 13, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Hawaii.gov, "Campaign Finance Reports: Mayoral Candidate List," accessed August 8, 2016
- ↑ Honolulu Civil Beat, "How Kirk Caldwell Blew Through $500K In Just 29 Days," August 4, 2016
- ↑ Honolulu Civil Beat, "Djou Holds A 9-Point Lead Over Caldwell In Mayor’s Race," August 3, 2016
- ↑ Star Bulletin, "Voters on route drive rail victory," November 10, 2008
- ↑ Honolulu Star Advertiser, "It’s a go!" February 23, 2011
- ↑ New York Times, "Hawaii Struggles to Keep Rail Project From Becoming a Boondoggle," March 20, 2016
- ↑ khon2, "HART board could consider ending rail at Middle St. in light of bloated budget," April 21, 2016
- ↑ Mass Transit, "HI: Take Rail All Way to Ala Moana, Voters Urge," July 19, 2016
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Hawaii News Now, "Beleaguered rail project takes center stage in mayoral race," July 26, 2016
- ↑ Peter Carlisle campaign website, "accessed July 21, 2016
- ↑ Charles Djou campaign website, "Rail," accessed July 21, 2016
- ↑ Hawaii News Now, "In debate, mayoral contenders spar over rail, homelessness," August 2, 2016
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Honolulu Star Advertiser, "Candidates tussle over homeless," August 3, 2016
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Honolulu Civil Beat, "How Mayoral Candidates Would Tackle Housing And Homelessness," August 4, 2016
- ↑ Pacific Business News, "Median home price on Oahu rises 4% to $720K on 5% sales bump in October," November 7, 2015
- ↑ Rent Jungle, "Rent trend data in Honolulu, Hawaii," accessed August 9, 2016
- ↑ Expatistan, "Cost of Living Map of North America," accessed August 10, 2016
- ↑ Hawaii News Now, "How to increase affordable housing stock? Mayoral candidates disagree," July 29, 2016
- ↑ Hawaii.gov, "Hawaii," accessed August 6, 2019
- ↑ Honolulu City Charter, Sec. 1.103, 3.101, 5.103, accessed October 21, 2014
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