A group of supporters are rallying to draft Dr. Panos Prevedouros, a University of Hawaii professor, civil engineer and transportation expert, to run for mayor of Honolulu in 2008. Currently, Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann has no well-known opponents in his bid for re-election to a second, four-year term in 2008, and that worries some in the community who say Hannemann is a long way from keeping his campaign promises from 2004.

Those pushing Prevedouros set up a Web site, http://www.draftpanos.com to encourage the professor to run. They purport that the numerous problems impacting Oahu that include sewage, traffic, trash, and municipal infrastructure, will be better managed by a civil engineer rather than a politician.

Here is some of what supporters authored about the potential mayoral candidate:

“Dr. Panos Prevedouros is the perfect mayoral choice because Oahu’s problems are virtually all civil-engineering problems. Consider our terrible traffic congestion, aging sewers, deteriorating water pipes, dilapidated bridges and highways and potholes abound.

"Panos has the expertise and experience to deal with these problems as an engineer, not a politician. He would follow in the shoes of another engineer, the highly successful three-time Honolulu Mayor Johnny Wilson. Right now, we have a politician at city hall who enjoys shaking constituents’ hands and being seen at public events. But what has he really done for the people of Oahu over the last four years?”

The Web site outlines some of the city’s major problems:

“*The sewer lines and water mains are in a very poor state and there is a $1-billion backlog in replacements and maintenance.

“*Honolulu pavements are among the worst in the nation and all the current administrator does is patch them. Honolulu is threatened with huge penalties by the EPA and retrofit bills for all its wastewater treatment plans, which do not include secondary treatment.

“*Honolulu's solid waste management is simply mismanagement and postponement.

“*Bridges, culverts and other infrastructure need regular inspections, maintenance and in many cases, replacement.

“*Waianae needs a bypass road. Leeward Oahu needs roadways.

“*Traffic congestion is stifling our economy and life style. Honolulu has too many bottlenecks and uncoordinated traffic lights."

"Instead of addressing these multi-billion-dollar infrastructure deficiencies that affect the island's public health and wellbeing, the current mayor ignores the strong public opposition and presses on with his steel-on-steel rail as a solution. Rail does not solve any of Honolulu's problems but it steals its entire budget for solving the island's real problems.”

Advocating for a leadership change, supporters say Prevedouros has been working locally and internationally to solve traffic tie-ups and can solve Oahu’s traffic problems quickly.

“Panos understands issues and knows what is important. As mayor, he will set the priorities straight. Things will begin to get fixed. We will see real solutions, real jobs, real improvement on our island. He will set the island on a sustainable course by solving its infrastructure issues and environmental problems like making sure there is clean water, treated sewage, expansion of waste to energy and waste recycling programs, and real traffic solutions. With Panos, there will be no rail, no waste of taxpayer money, no politics as usual. Change is good. Change is needed. And it is needed now to fix Oahu.”

Prevedouros is out of town at a professional transportation conference for the week and could not be reached for comment.

Sen. Menor Set to Go to Court Again

State Senator Ron Menor, D-Mililani, has been in the news lately for his Driving Under the Influence (DUI) arrest, which landed him in prison on Friday, May 23rd for a night as his sons, including his 11-year-old, was in the car with him while he drove intoxicated.

But what hasn’t yet been reported is another case that will send Menor to Wahiawa District Court in July to defend himself against a civil lawsuit brought by Capital One Bank for a year-old credit card debt.

Since last Aug. 14, Menor owed Capitol One Bank an estimated $2,869.76, which the credit company has been unable to collect.

Attorney for Capital One Bank, Marvin S.C. Dang, would not comment other than to issue the following statement: "As a matter of public record, as the attorney for Capital One Bank, I filed a complaint against a Ronnie Menor regarding a credit card debt; and the case is still pending in court. I have no other comments at this time." Menor told Hawaii Reporter that “yes, the matter is being resolved.”

But according to court records, nothing has been resolved yet. A trial is set for July 16, 2008.

About his recent DUI, Menor told the media that he had one or two glasses of wine at a family function, and that he would not submit to part of the sobriety test because of a fractured foot and old contact lenses that caused him to weave when driving. The prosecutor said regardless of such claims, sobriety tests show Menor was driving while intoxicated.

Menor, who served in the House of Representatives from 1982 to 1985 and 1992 to 2000 and in the Senate from 1986 to 1990 and 2000 to today, is up for re-election this year.

He will have to file by July 22 should he choose to run again. He told reporters in a May press conference that he had not decided whether to run again and that because of the DUI, he was just focusing on his family.

If he does run, Mililani voters will have to decide whether Menor, who appeared less than truthful with the police and the media, is trustworthy enough to represent them and whether he should be trusted with their taxpayer funds when he hasn’t been responsible with his own money.

Ironworkers Fined for Excessive Political Contribution to Powerful House Member

State Rep. Dwight Takamine, D-Hilo, once the powerful House Finance chair until he was ousted last legislative session from this position, was the subject of discussion at a state Campaign Spending hearing last week.

The representative who is running for Senate this year received three contributions from the Iron Workers, which combined, exceeded the legal limit of $4,000 by $1,500.

Both Takamine and the Ironworkers realized the mistake and Takamine returned the money to the union, according to Barbara Wong, director of the Campaign Spending Commission.

However the union was still fined $375. The fine would have been $500, but as is standard, commissioners lowered the fine by 25 percent because the union admitted their mistake to the commission and rectified it. Takamine was not penalized, Wong says.

Feds Intervene After International Union Manipulates Local Union Election

Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA) brought out the heavyweights to influence the outcome of the recent Laborers’ Local 368 election. The result -- LIUNA’s selected Oliver Kupau as the union’s business manager. But since Kupau has a criminal record, the federal government has since intervened.

This story is especially ironic because in January 2007, the Laborers’ were placed under emergency trusteeship for alleged malfeasance.

Then Independent Hearing Officer Peter F. Vaira upheld the trusteeship decision on March 12, 2007. Vaira ruled there were some wrongs committed by local officers including hiring hall abuses and financial mismanagement. These officials were removed from their positions. Today, none of local officers who were removed were brought up on charges and they maintain that all the abuses were corrected through minor policy changes.

LIUNA Special Elections Officer Joseph Guerrieri, Jr. wrote in a letter to the union that, “Under the trusteeship, the international union attempted to establish the conditions necessary for restoration of democratic practices and full autonomy of the Local.”

A year later and before lifting the trusteeship, Local 368 announced under the guidance of International trustees, it would hold a nomination meeting on March 22, 2008, for local union officers. The local election was scheduled for May 17, 2008.

The international trustees selected nomination judges Herbert Loo (Chairman), Vicky David and Ernest Santiago. They approved two members, Oliver Kupau and William Naone as qualified and rejected two other members, Clayton Saguibo and Joey Alcantra, as not qualified for the office of Business Manager. Clayton Saguibo has filed an appeal with the U.S. Department of Labor over his rejection.

Kupau was promoted to lead the Laborers’ Union following the March 12, 2007, hearing at the Laborers’ Local 368 meeting hall. The international trustees gave the title of Senior Business Agent to Kupau to oversee the activities of all the Business Agents and assigned Richard Nishie as Kupau’s assistant.

Kupau was invited by the international trustees to attend all the Trust fund meetings as a guest of the Laborers’ trustees and traveled throughout the state on a regular basis to promote union business.

Naone challenged Kupau’s eligibility based on his conviction, sentencing, and serving time in federal prison for money laundering and bribery. The International union rejected Naone’s appeal.

Naone then filed an appeal with the U.S. Department of Labor. Naone through U.S. District Court records showed that based on Kupau’s money laundering and bribery convictions, he should have been disqualified to serve.

The International trustees decided to halt the elections on May 17, 2008, and impound the ballots. Deputy Trustee Ken Casarez under direction from trustee and LIUNA National Vice President Rocco Davis took the lead on this. The ballots have been sealed and stored at the Hawaii’s office of the U.S. Department of Labor.

The international trustees have now allowed time -- 90 days -- for Kupau to retain legal counsel and to file a petition with the U.S. District Court in hopes he will secure a decision that allows him to hold a union office.

The Laborers’ membership is rapidly losing confidence and trust in the International Union trustees with their handling of union operations, the making changes in the Trust Funds, and now the manipulation of the elections.

On June 9, 2008, the U. S. Department of Labor Office of Labor-Management Standards district director R. Bruce Edgington informed the international union that Kupau was not eligible to run for any union office because of the conviction.

The letter further explained that federal law prohibits Kupau from being employed by the local union, to have any decision-making authority with the union, and the restrictions are valid for 13 years after Kupau was released from prison.

Stay tuned for more news on this union situation involving the international union.

- Staff contributed to this report

Reach Malia Zimmerman, editor of Hawaii Reporter, at mailto:Malia@hawaiireporter.com

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