BY JIM DOOLEY – United States Sen. Daniel Inouye, Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle and mayoral candidate Kirk Caldwell made a joint pro-rail appearance this afternoon before construction workers on the project.
Absent from the event was the third major candidate in this year’s mayoral election, former Gov. Ben Cayetano, who is adamantly opposed to the Honolulu elevated railway rapid transit project.
In remarks to employees of Kiewit Pacific, the general contractor hired to build multiple sections of the rail line, Carlisle called Cayetano the source of misinformation which has caused “a backlash” against the project.
Carlisle urged the workers to vote and to promote the rail project to their friends, relatives, neighbors and acquaintances.
“We need you not only to be the army that builds this project, we need you to be the army that sells this project to everybody you know,” the Mayor said.
“If we have that kind of army, that will defeat the enemy in a heartbeat,” he said.
Inouye expresses his whole-hearted supported for the $5.2 billion rail project, which is to be 33% funded with federal
dollars.
“It’s on track,” he said. “The only thing that will stop it would be World War III.”
Caldwell, former City Managing Director, limited his remarks to praise of Inouye, saying the senator has been steadfast in his support of rail for decades.
“He is the past of rail. He is the future of rail,” Caldwell said.
Inouye was asked if he will endorse one of the two in the upcoming mayoral election.
“It’s a secret ballot,” the senator said.
“I won’t support someone who opposes rail,” he added.
Inouye’s time has passed. It’s time for him retire.
Caldwell and Carlisle pushes rail either in total economic ignorance or in just plain ignorance. I can’t believe they’re going forward with this ill advised project.
Obama will be out in November, and both houses of Congress will be Republican. Any hopes of future funding will be gone.
Agreed, it’s way past the time for some new blood to represent Hawaii. I don’t mean the same old career politicians coming up from the ranks either.
While the funding from the Fed’s will not be there, Obama will be in November. But I digress…
This project will absolutely kill Hawaii taxpayers and set our state so far back we will merely become another banana republic run by the same core group of dictators that have no love, much less aloha, for our residents.
There are so many other deserving infrastructure projects our taxes should be spent on. You think education and it’s costs are bad now, if rail (as it is presented so far) comes to fruition, our schools will become increasingly decrepit and students even more neglected than they are now.
But then, the last thing a government wants is an educated public.
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