"Today's labor union endorsements are yet another example of how we are building a broad coalition all across the City to fix the mess at Honolulu Hale," stated Djou.  "I am honored to earn the support of unions and families, Democrats and Republicans, from Kaneohe to Kapolei and Haleiwa to Hawaii Kai.  People understand that we need new leadership we can trust in the mayor's office."

The labor union endorsements today join Retired Judge and Former Hawaii Democratic Party Chair Walter Heen, Gov. Ben Cayetano and City Councilmember Ann Kobayashi in supporting Charles Djou for mayor.  Former Lt. Gov. Duke Aiona, the GOP nominee for Governor in 2010 and 2014, has also announced his support for Djou

Djou last received an endorsement from a labor union in 2006, when he ran unopposed for re-election to the Honolulu City Council.

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Charles Djou represented Hawaii's 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House and previously served on the Honolulu City Council and Hawaii State House.  Djou is an Army Reservist and Afghanistan war veteran.  He is married to Stacey Kawasaki Djou and together they have three children.

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Labor Leaders ‘Disappointed’ with Caldwell

HNN: The five unions supported Kirk Caldwell for mayor in 2010 and again in 2012, but the change of heart this time around comes after growing frustrations involved with the rail project.

"We did endorse Caldwell the last two times and all I can say the word for me is disappointment," said IBEW Local 1186 Leader Damien Kim. "The disappointment of what we thought was going to be happening in those years did not come into fruition at this time."

"We need to do things more transparently and what we see in Djou is fiscal accountability," said Reggie Castanares of Plumbers and Fitters Union, Local 675.

Fiscal accountability is Djou's main selling point. He has made a big promise to cap rail spending at $7 billion, which would likely prevent the City from building the full route to Ala Moana Center.

"These are not ordinary times here," said Djou. "We have got to bring this community together to fix these massive problems."

"We want to bring back the communication that was lost, the trust between the executive and legislative branch," Castanares said.

"It's very rare for them to endorse a republican, but in this case they seem to think he can really win this race," said Hawaii News Now Political Analyst Colin Moore. "So if I were Charles Djou, I'd be very pleased and if I were Kirk Caldwell, I'd be very worried." …

"It shows the Djou Campaign has momentum and the Caldwell Campaign is losing it," said Moore….

read … Momentum