BY JIM DOOLEY – Top executives and employees of the lead consulting firm on Honolulu’s delayed $5.2 billion rail project have given more than $26,000 in political donations to pro-rail mayoral candidate Kirk Caldwell, an analysis of campaign records shows.
The donations, from individuals at the Parsons Brinckerhoff engineering firm, are a tiny fraction of the $1.5 million in contributions given to the Caldwell campaign this year, but are the largest cluster of donations from executives at one company, according to reports filed with the state Campaign Spending Commission.
Top officers of the Parsons firm – president and chief executive George J. Pierson, global chief operations officer Gregory Kelly, and chief of staff Michael Fisher – each gave the maximum-allowable $4,000 to the Caldwell campaign on September 25, according to campaign files. (The Caldwell campaign incorrectly listed Pierson’s first name as Gregory.)
Company director David McAlister gave the same amount on the same day, while other officials and employees donated the same or lesser amounts to Caldwell since then.
Company officials, including director of corporate communications Judith Cooper (who gave $500 to the Caldwell campaign), were not available for comment late today on the East Coast.
Parsons Brinckerhoff has received some $469 million to date in non-bid city consulting contracts for rail-related work.
Ten executives at another rail consulting firm, InfraConsult LLC, gave another $17,000 to the Caldwell campaign in the past two months, records show.
InfraConsult’s three managing partners have given just under $11,000 to Caldwell’s campaign this year.
The company has received $82 million in non-bid rail consulting contracts, according to the city’s rail project website.
Included in its duties is lobbying for the rail project in Washington, D.C.
Support for Caldwell by Parsons, InfraConsult and other rail contractors is not surprising since the other candidate in the mayor’s election, former Hawaii governor Ben Cayetano, is an avowed opponent of the massive elevated rail project.
Cayetano is a co-plaintiff in a federal court lawsuit that today won a major decision that will result in a lengthy new delay of the already-stalled project (see related story).
Construction work on the huge undertaking has already been stopped by another adverse court decision.
The consultant donations were revealed in financial reports filed Monday.
Caldwell supporters have waged a multi-million dollar advertising campaign against Cayetano that has depicted the former governor as a politician who awards consultant contracts based on campaign contributions.
Last month, Cayetano filed a defamation and libel lawsuit against Pacific Resource Partnership, financial backer of the political action committee that has financed the ad campaign against him.
People, take the time to quickly investigate at how many members on HART, contractors, subcontractors, city employees and various rail interest groups have their hands in 2 pots, big conflict of interests. Not to mention the developers who are gaining big time! None of them care about food sustainability even knowing we only have 1 week's supply of food in case of disaster, none of them care that every necessary service will fall to the wayside to pay for their train because they will have taken their money and run, including Caldwell! BEN DID NOT HAVE TO COME OUT OF RETIREMENT TO RUN FOR MAYOR, HE CAME BECAUSE HE SAW THE BIGGEST WRONG BEING DONE TO THE PEOPLE OF HAWAII AND WANTS TO MAKE IT RIGHT. HELP HIM RID OUR STATE OF GREED AND CORRUPTION. THEN OUR QUALITY OF LIFE WILL IMPROVE. VOTE BEN ON NOV. 6TH. And don't forget to vote NO on the city charter amendments, if passed it gives the city even more power to do as they please.
1. Rail will not ease the traffic congestion. 20% of the congestion is caused by buses, trucks and emergency vehicles, none of which will be able to utilize a rail system.
2. The rail would require 3 steps for each commuter, every day. Transportation to the boarding station (cab, bus, waiting personal vehicle), passage on the train, disembarkation and transfer via a 3rd vehicle (cab, bus, waiting personal vehicle). Who can possibly see this as an attractive option?
3. "The feds will pay for this", is a delusion. That money is not a gift from fairies on the moon, it's what's left of our tax monies after being filtered through Washington politics.
4. For a glimpse of one rail beneficiary visit https://www.drhortonsucks.info/
Vote for Ben Cayetano
Our tax dollars needs t/b spent on higher priorities too. Some forget the Sewage MANDATE the city has to meet FIRST. Details from the city's sewage treatment settlement:
» Implement an agreed-upon operation and maintenance program for all force mains.
» Complete 40 gravity sewer projects by Dec. 31, 2016, and evaluate another 38 projects over the next four years.
» Assess the condition, through closed-circuit television, of 650 miles of gravity sewers.
» Repair or replace 144 miles of gravity sewers.
» Clean 500 total miles of gravity mains per year.
SAND ISLAND AND HONOULIULI TREATMENT PLANT UPGRADES
» Honouliuli is required to be upgraded to meet secondary treatment standards by June 1, 2024, and Sand Island by Dec. 31, 2035, with possibility of a three-year extension if the city demonstrates that the earlier deadline is not technically feasible or would impose undue financial hardship.
» Both must meet interim effluent limits until they achieve full secondary treatment.
Source: Office of the Corporation Counsel, City & County of Honolulu.
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