Aloha Spirit, Samoan Man

Mufi Hannemann, the first native-born Honolulu mayor in over forty years, epitomizes the spirit of Aloha. When he took office in January 2005 as the twelfth mayor of the thirteenth largest municipality in the U.S. (with just over 900,000 residents and 60 million visitors a year), Hannemann had three simple goals: to restore fiscal integrity and accountability to City Hall, to provide basic public services, and to improve the quality of life for all Honolulu citizens. To these ends, Hannemann has championed the development of a light rail mass transit system, embarked on long-term infrastructure improvements by declaring war on potholes and financing a sewer repair program, and cleaning up the parks and moving homeless into transitional housing. 

TNAC: How would you describe the Honolulu of today?

MH: Geographically, we are the city of Honolulu, but we are also the rest of the island of Oahu. The nickname of Honolulu, in Polynesian, means gathering place, and we have always been a city of different ethnic people. Being the first native mayor speaks to the fact that we have always welcomed people across the world. But while each ethnic group celebrates its own cultural diversity, we are one group in terms of being Hawaiian at heart. I’m sure people from the South are friendly, and I personally felt the New England warmth, but here, we have the spirit of Aloha, which is infectious. When people talk about their visit to Hawaii, they extol the beaches and the weather, but first and foremost, they talk about our people.

TNAC: How do you see the role of immigrants in society?

MH: The many immigrant groups that have come here helped make the city what it is today, whether they came originally to work on sugarcane plantations or later on, with the great influx of military folks who work here. I, myself, am proud of my Samoan heritage and the fact that I am the first Samoan mayor in the United States. We have also had the first Japanese-American mayor and the first Filipino-American mayor.

TNAC: Criminologists have been theorizing a link between high immigrant communities and low crime. Would you say Honolulu exemplifies this link?

MH: We are a very accommodating society in terms of welcoming immigrants. All we ask is that they obey the laws and rules and obviously incorporate Hawaiian culture in all that they do. I credit our rating as the second safest big city to our excellent partnerships across the board, including federal and state law enforcement officials. We have an excellent police department—which we emphasize in our budgeting process in City Hall. Prior to coming into office, our challenge was maintaining that level of protection and keeping our officers, whom other mainland cities look to steal. We had the highest percent pay raise in twenty years because we work hard at motivating officers, as well as equipping and training them, and we urge the community to work with us in a community policing effort so they serve as eyes and ears of our police force.

TNAC: What are the challenges Honolulu faces today?

MH: The biggest impediment to our quality of life is our traffic congestion. Everyone who comes to Oahu, the first thing they remark is how long it takes to get from the airport to Waikiki to move around the island, and that is a seven-days-a-week, 24-hours-a-day problem. Ask any resident here about the top three problems, and I guarantee traffic will be mentioned. My administration has decided to tackle the problem head on even though we knew it would incorporate raising taxes. Every mayor that has come to office has failed to go forward, but now we are ready to break ground on the first six or seven miles of a $3.6 billion light-rail system in 2009.

TNAC: How does the light rail system fit into your vision for the future of Honolulu?

MH: The light rail system is going to be the centerpiece of a multi-modal transit system which will include our award-winning bus system and also a ferry service connecting the west side of Oahu with downtown Honolulu. Once we begin working, the first twenty miles will take us into 2017. But what is really exciting is the prospect of transit-oriented development taking place around train stations, including building new communities, revitalizing older communities, creating commercial and retail space, government facilities, civic centers, bike and walking lanes—just like we have seen in other cities that have benefited from rail.

TNAC: How does it feel to see a long-time dream of yours becoming reality?

MH: People always chuckle when they hear me say that I knew I wanted to go into government back when I was in Fern Elementary School (named after our first mayor, Joseph Fern). When I was a 9-year-old Cub Scout, I remember seeing John F. Kennedy when he came to visit Hawaii. At the conclusion of his speech, he said something that has always been part of my philosophy when I talk about my city: “Honolulu [or Hawaii] is what the rest of the world should be striving to become.”