Message to Supporters       June 16, 2016

Earlier today, Kirk Caldwell had a massive change of position on rail by admitting that the route might need to be shortened to end at Middle Street. The reality is that the Mayor is the last one in the City to understand that rail at-all-costs to the taxpayers is simply not an option. Just this month he was quoted saying that he wants to see rail continue to Ala Moana Shopping Center, even at a cost of over $8 billion. This sort of flip-flopping is incomprehensible with such a large project and part of a much bigger problem of trust at City Hall.

Last month, when the city council suggested the plan to stop construction of the rail at Middle Street, Caldwell shut down the idea saying, "We need to build the full 20 miles." Just a couple of weeks ago, Caldwell criticized the Middle Street alternative as being short-sighted: "While short-term you may save money by not building more, you're talking about a system that's going to be around 100 years from now."

Flip-flopping on such a crucial decision involving billions of taxpayer dollars is an example of the political positioning and self-serving maneuvering that the citizens of Honolulu have come to expect from Caldwell. We need a mayor who will carefully consider what is best for Honolulu, even before it becomes politically convenient for him.

This is why our campaign to bring leadership you can trust back to Honolulu Hale is so important. Your contribution of $500 or $100 or $50, or any amount up to $4,000 is critical.  There are now less than two months to go until the primary election.  Every contribution you make will be put to use right now to fight Caldwell and his horrible practices.

Aloha,

Charles Djou

Full Text: Caldwell statement on rail project

SA: Mayor, Council chairman say rail should end at Middle Street for now

CB: Hopelessly Over-Budget, Rail Should Stop At Middle Street, Mayor Says

(L to R) - Judge Walter Heen, Charles Djou, Gov. Ben Cayetano, Councilmember Ann Kobayashi

P.S. - If you haven't seen it, we announced yesterday that Former Federal Judge and Chair of the Hawaii Democratic Party, Walter Heen, will serve as the chair of our campaign.  Judge Heen joined Gov. Ben Cayetano and Councilmember Ann Kobayashi at Honolulu Hale yesterday to lend their support for us.  We are building a broad, bi-partisan coalition from a wide cross-section of our community.  We have this support because the people are so fed up with the Caldwell administration and know that our community deserves so much better.

We need your support. The current Mayor has a huge campaign war chest. We have broad based support throughout the community from people like, Governor Ben Cayetano, and Councilmember Ann Kobayashi who believe that our City government is failing us. Your contribution of $500 or $100 or $50 will make a tremendous difference.