Q&A with Honolulu Mayoral Candidates | Amemiya & Blangiardi
Outrigger Hotels Hawaii Political Action Committee (OHHPAC) serves as an advocate for our company, hosts and industry in the political process and governmental activities while looking to support candidates for public office who understand and work for our interests. The following questions were sent to Keith Amemiya and Rick Blangiardi — the two mayoral candidates for Honolulu.
We’re sharing this Q&A since we have more than 1,000+ hosts in Honolulu alone and can have a real impact on our industry by participating in the coming mayoral election. Our focus this year ranges from how each mayoral candidate could help our industry recover so we can return our hosts back to work to the candidates’ thoughts on real property tax rate increases specifically targeted against hotels and resorts.
Q1: Why are you running for Mayor?
Keith Amemiya: I’m running for Mayor because we need change. COVID-19 is an unprecedented situation, so we need leadership that listens, that can adapt, and be responsive to people’s needs. Donald Trump is the nations worst role model as a know-it-all leader who is all talk. Strong arm leadership is not Hawaii-style. I’m running to be a different kind of leader that brings people together and excites them to be part of the solution.
I was born and raised on Oʻahu and have lived here my entire life. Hawaiʻi is my home, and I want to keep it the special place that it is for many generations to come. When I headed the Hawaiʻi High School Athletic Association, I visited every community in the state and built relationships, particularly with working families. Our families deserve better. They deserve housing they can afford, a good job, and the ability to live beyond paycheck to paycheck.
I have been serving Oʻahu’s community for the last 30 years with extensive leadership experience in the public, private, and non-profit sectors. My top priorities are helping to lead our economic and health recovery, ensuring safe and affordable housing for all Oʻahu residents, and addressing homelessness. I am ready to work to prevent and mitigate the spread of COVID-19, help facilitate a healthy version of tourism that focuses on quality over quantity, and work collaboratively to meet the needs of our local residents and businesses.
Rick Blangiardi: I am running for Mayor because I firmly believe Honolulu – even before COVID-19 – faces unprecedented challenges that will define the character and quality of life for our residents and businesses for generations to come. I believe we need strong, decisive leadership by an experienced executive who will bring the best and brightest local minds together as a team to vision and solve Oahu’s problems.
Many of my formative leadership experiences were earned as a UH football player and coach. As a coach I learned how to inspire teamwork, empower my players, and ultimately bring out the highest performance from every person, all in service to our larger team goals. My subsequent 43 years in the broadcast industry afforded me great leadership experiences involving such teams, in highly complex organizations, through extremely tough situations in a wide variety of geographic and economic climates. My position at Hawaii News Now provided me a unique vantage point to see the difficult challenges facing our communities on a daily basis, the very real needs of our local people and businesses, and the mounting concerns and pressures of working individuals and their families.
If elected, I am ready to bring my lifetime of leadership experience – as well as my deep love and gratitude for my home- to serve you as your Mayor. And as your Mayor, I commit to never be constrained or limited in my vision and determination to do things better and come out stronger in the end.
Q2: If elected, what steps will you undertake to help the hospitality industry recover so that we can return as many of our local employees to work as soon as possible?
Keith Amemiya: We must fully manage COVID-19, by preventing and mitigating the spread so that we can safely reopen our economy. Our residents, workers, and visitors deserve safe tourism, and I will work towards making safe tourism a reality by ensuring that sufficient testing, contact tracing, and isolation and quarantine locations are widely available. It is important that we work to make testing available to any visitors so they can feel confident enjoying what our community has to offer. Contact tracing is important to identify clusters, and it is important that we provide the support needed to ensure the safety of our visitor and hospitality industry workers.
As Mayor, I will continue to support City efforts to fund contact tracers if the state Department of Health fails to meet our community’s needs. Isolation locations are also essential to mitigating the spread of COVID-19, and it is important that our hospitality workers can return to work confident that we have a system in place to meet their needs and keep their families safe if they are ever exposed to the virus.
Understanding that tourism will not immediately rebound, we can take this opportunity to retool and retrain workers to grow new, innovative industries. This would provide relief to many of the local families that are currently out of work. To facilitate a safe version of tourism, our goal should be to attract visitors that will spend more per person so that we may maintain consistent revenue from fewer people. Supporting industries to complement the hospitality industry, including agriculture, aquaculture, film, and other creative industries, will also allow us to create additional jobs while presenting the best version of our community to the world. Showcasing our values of taking care of our land and people will impart in visitors a deeper appreciation for our islands, increase the likelihood of visitors returning, and allow us to focus on the quality of visitors over the quantity of visitors.
Finally, it is important that businesses and residents alike have access to the information they need to operate safely. My proposed Office of Community Engagement will be a proactive team who will reach out and build relationships in the community. This will allow us to stay up-to date on our ever-evolving situation, listening to your concerns and shaping responsive policies, and it will allow my administration to get clear, accurate information out to the community in a timely manner. In addition, given the nature of our crisis, I have committed to having regular meetings with the hospitality industry, and I will designate the Executive Director of the Office of Economic Revitalization to serve as the dedicated point of contact in my administration, given the role the tourism industry will play in our economic recovery.
Rick Blangiardi: As Mayor, the first step I will take will be to invite representatives of the hotel industry to meet with me and my team so we can hear and learn, first-hand, the economic realities of your industry, your concerns, proposals and ideas. One of the tenets of my administration will be informed decision making and I want to meet and hear from the hotel industry at the very beginning of my administration.
Second, we must plan for Oahu’s economic recovery and the revitalization of our hotel industry/tourism now, not later. Given the rise in COVID-19 infections, public health and safety must be our priority, but we must also be planning for the future. Tourism represents over 16% of our state’s GDP and broadly impacts every other sector of our economy. There is no recovery without tourism and Oahu’s tourism-related unemployed workforce rightly expects government to work with industry to restore our economy as quickly as possible in a safe and responsible manner. I will step up to that job. That means, in the current environment of indecision, using the authority of the Mayor’s office to bring tourism industry stakeholders to a common table to plan our collective recovery and revitalization, including the hotel industry, HLTA, HTA, DBEDT, UHERO, airlines, representatives of the restaurant, retail, activities and transportation sectors, union representatives, the state’s economic navigator, DOH, HIEMA, community representatives and others, including federal agencies and resources. As Mayor of the county representing nearly half of all hotel rooms in the state, I accept it as my obligation to lead and draw upon my experiences in the private sector to find real, implementable solutions by working collaboratively with all stakeholders.
Third, I will aggressively support the hotel industry and the tourism sector by making sure our communities and public spaces are clean, safe, well-maintained and inviting for our tourists, residents, businesses and local workforce. A recovery plan that includes job stimulating projects presents many opportunities to fix our existing city infrastructure, including roads, sidewalks, parks, public space and venues, etc. But we must do more. We view recovery as an opportunity to stimulate and revitalize, to make things better than they were before. To do otherwise would be a waste of an opportunity. As your Mayor, I commit to a recovery plan that does more than just recover lost ground. With the right team and the right attitude, we can and will gain ground along the way and come out better and stronger in the end, to the benefit of all Oahu residents and businesses.
Fourth, I will make sure all city departments and agencies understand our singular and collective commitment, as public servants, to serve our communities with a “can-do” attitude. For example, understanding the critical value of our local workforce to the hotel industry, I will work with Oahu Transit Services (OTS) and the Department of Transportation Services (DTS) to make sure Oahu’s public transit system is efficiently serving the transit-riding community who rely upon public transportation to live their lives, including commute to and from hotel industry jobs in Waikiki, Ko Olina and around the island.
Finally, as Mayor, I will be proactive in the city’s search for additional funding sources to support Honolulu’s economic recovery and revitalization. We are an island economy, but this is a global pandemic, meaning it offers many opportunities to tap resources beyond our state and county tax base. We must aggressively fight for federal funds and seek out key investments in Honolulu’s future. Done right, Honolulu can and should lead the nation in recovery and revitalization.
Q3: Do you consider it appropriate that the hospitality industry pays a significantly higher rate of real property taxes than other businesses in Hawaii? If elected, will you continue this trend of raising real property tax rates solely on hotel/resort-zoned properties?
Keith Amemiya: I understand that tourism has impacts on our infrastructure and local community that the City has attempted to respond to through higher property taxes on the hospitality industry. By taking the opportunity before us to invest in innovative sectors, like green energy and agriculture, and Transit Oriented Development (TOD), we can also help spread the tax responsibility to other businesses beyond hotels. With that said, raising property taxes is not my first solution for solving our economic crisis. I also have no plans to make the hospitality industry alone bear the burden of any budget shortfalls.
As outlined in my “Housing for All Plan,” one of my first priorities for increasing revenue will be passing a vacant home tax. According to a 2019 state study, there were 34,923 vacant units in the state, including 23,709 not available to residents and held instead for occasional use. Making these units available to Oʻahu residents can help close the gap for the over 22,000 units needed. I will support efforts by the City Council to pass a vacancy tax to disincentivize homes from sitting idle. This, in addition to enforcing our short-term rental laws, will increase revenue for the city. As also discussed in my “Housing for All Plan,” providing bonus density, increased height limits, and eliminating parking requirements for developers building affordable units, especially along the rail line through TOD, will allow us to stimulate economic growth with construction
while also increasing our tax base.
With this said, COVID-19 is a crisis that we must confront together. Every family, business, and industry has felt the impacts in one form or another. I contemplate on the enormity of the task at hand on a daily basis, and I understand that the hospitality industry has been one of hardest hit during the current crisis. As we collectively assess the economic climate, I commit to evaluating any increase in real property tax as equitably as possible, without targeting any specific industry.
Rick Blangiardi: I’ll start by saying that, as your Mayor, I will bring not only 40+ years experience in the private sector to the office, but an absolute commitment to fairness in public service. I understand the compounding effect of tax rate increases on top of significant increases in real property valuations and I commit to give this issue my personal attention. You should know that during my long career in the private sector, I always had to operate within a budget and fiscal discipline was the norm versus the exception. I believe the same should be true in government. I want to fully understand the different tax classifications and why the city (Mayor and Council) historically treated some classifications differently and I intend to call for information from the city’s financial staff. If elected as your Mayor, I also commit to sit down with Outrigger and the hotel industry to review the industry’s real property tax and valuation history. I want to get more details regarding the direct and indirect economic impact of COVID-19 on the hotel industry, including your workforce. After learning more, I welcome a frank discussion regarding what a fair county tax rate plan would look like, especially in light of COVID-19. I can tell you that at the current time, I have no plan to propose increases to real property taxes on an economically distressed tax base. In fact, if anything, I want to explore opportunities for the city, state and federal governments to assist our challenged industries in recovery and revitalization. A shared commitment to investing in a better and stronger City and County of Honolulu will be my focus.
Q4: The success of our business and ability to sustainably support our employees and the communities we live in depends heavily on the City and County’s commitment to keeping our streets clean and our neighborhoods safe. With the sharp decline in TAT revenues that support the City’s investment in road repairs, essential services and first responders, what is your plan to keep the City’s essential services working?
Keith Amemiya: In times of crisis, government needs to step up, not retreat. Property taxes at this point have not been impacted, and the City has a reserve that is available. In addition to the CARES Act funds, which have been used for the immediate needs of the community and the City’s COVID-19 response, federal funds have also been made available through other sources. For example, the Federal Transit Administration has allocated $90.8 million for public transit services. Ultimately, the city must pursue all potential future federal funding from stimulus plans, like the CARES Act, HEROES Act, and other competitive grants such as the LoNo grant. As we navigate these challenging times together, my first priority will be maintaining the essential city services needed to keep our community safe.
The city can also help stimulate the economy by building affordable housing, building infrastructure such as sewers and water lines to encourage private development, and digitizing city services across all departments. The city needs to take action on the many good ideas and plans for renewable energy to help drive economic growth. I also plan on reducing bureaucracy and improving city processes so that city services and programs get to the people and neighborhoods that need them.
Rick Blangiardi: I would like to start by acknowledging and expressing my appreciation for all that Outrigger has done over the years for local employees and their families, charities and non profits, island communities, culture and the arts. The support of Outrigger and the visitor industry to Oahu communities is unquestioned. With respect to TAT revenue, my understanding is Oahu County receives 44.1 o/o (approximately $45M annually) in TAT from the current $103M allocated by the state to the counties. In FY2021, this amount was calculated as 1.17% of the city’s operating resources. With respect to future TAT and projected declines in revenue, I would like to approach the state about joining with the city in incentivizing the recovery and revitalization of Honolulu’s hotel industry through a future shared revenue agreement that benefits the industry, city and state.
The reality is, no county is going to recover without the hotel industry and tourism. We must find creative ways for the industry, city and state to work together on our recovery and revitalization. As Mayor, one of my first priorities will be to meet with Budget and Fiscal Services (BFS), review the FY2022 draft Budget, receive information regarding known FY2021 deficits, if any, and projected deficits in FY2022 operating resources. As alluded to in the question, I suspect budgetary adjustments may be necessary and my team may need to prioritize, rank and adjust proposed expenditures in the FY2022 draft budget. I also want a full accounting of city projects that are already programmed with appropriated funds and projects that are shovel ready but unfunded. I can assure OHHPAC that the provision and maintenance of core city services will remain a top priority, including public safety and maintenance of city infrastructure, and I will do everything within my authority and power as Mayor to offset any city deficits through the tapping of additional federal funds. I am hopeful the federal government will come through with a major infrastructure program that will provide critical funds to the City and County of Honolulu. I want to assure you and your workforce that I understand the criticality of keeping our streets clean and our neighborhoods safe as we take collective steps to recover and revitalize our tourism sector. I look forward to working with the hotel industry on these issues.
Q5: Why should Honolulu’s visitor industry and our families support you over your
opponent?
Keith Amemiya: This is a pivotal election and we all have a choice. We can choose between talk or we can choose work. We can choose top-down leadership or collaborative approaches that invite the participation of industry experts. We can choose between the ways of the past, or we can usher in a new generation to envision the future that we want for Oʻahu. I’m choosing to put in the work we need and look forward, and I humbly ask the people of Oʻahu to join me on this journey to make Oahu the best that it can be, not only for us, but for many generations to come.
Before all of us is an opportunity to demonstrate how to lead during a crisis, whether it be leading our families, our businesses, or our City. I commit to embracing the uncertainty of our time and not making baseless political promises. Every decision I make will be evidence-based with the ultimate goal of keeping our community safe and secure. This includes physical safety, by mitigating and preventing the spread of COVID-19, and economic security, by having the willingness to listen, collaborate, and effectuate policy based on sound data. My “Housing for All Plan” and “Recovery Plan for a Healthy Honolulu” are examples of my commitments to the types of clear, sound policy that our community needs. Unlike my opponent, I have clear plans and vision for how to put these plans into action. I have spent the past year of campaigning listening to everyday people, hotel workers, employers, small businesses, and can bring people together to get things done.
Unlike my opponent, I think it is unwise to talk about reducing government, pausing rail at Middle Street, and looking to the visitor industry to fill budget shortfalls. Fear-based leadership leads government to shrink back when our community needs it to step up. I intend to exercise humility by learning from the experts, including the hospitality industry, about what each particular industry needs right now to survive and protect the interests of our workers and families that rely on them.
Rick Blangiardi: First, I think it’s important for people know that I come from a working class family (my father worked as a machinist at Pearl Harbor) and my values reflect my upbringing -work hard, always be fair and accountable and do your homework (be prepared). As Mayor, I want to solve quality of life issues in our communities, like affordable housing and workforce housing, transit systems that serve transit-oriented communities, upgrades to our city infrastructure, climate change and sea level rise solutions that create a sustainable Hawaii, all programs that will stimulate our economy, create good paying jobs and enhance the quality of life for all our residents.
Second, and I say this respectfully, experience and leadership matters and I bring 40+ years of successfully leading numerous businesses through challenging times. I am not in this to build a political career, I am in this to make a positive difference. COVID-19 and its impacts are the greatest threat to Honolulu and the greatest priority for everyone. We must focus on public health and safety, reopening, recovery and revitalization. This is going to take months, and even years, and will require focused, decisive and experienced leadership from your next Mayor. I know I am the best candidate for the job and I humbly ask for your support.