Dear B.J.,
As the
Star-Advertiser’s reporter covering the three-man race for Honolulu mayor, you have the hottest beat in town, and by extension, that makes you one
of the most influential journalists in Honolulu.
What you
report on that race to a great extent determines what the other media report.
It’s been that way for decades. One-time Star-Bulletin City Hall reporter Diane
Armstrong and I (for the Advertiser) took bemused umbrage years ago when our coverage
routinely showed up in TV newscasts later in the day.
Now that
Honolulu has only one daily newspaper, you and your colleagues at the
Star-Advertiser are even more influential in setting the media agenda.
That’s why I’m writing this open letter to you with a hope you’ll start
reporting on what looks like the proverbial “elephant in the living room” in this race.
Doing What
Comes Naturally
Mayoral
candidate Ben Cayetano has said he’ll install a bus rapid transit plan if he’s
elected and is successful in killing mobility-restoring, travel-time-reducing,
development-guiding, transportation-equity-ensuring and job creating Honolulu
rail.
He alludes
to that plan without providing any details – a fairly remarkable position to
take in light of the magnitude of his promise. Mr. Cayetano told Civil Beat six weeks ago he’d make those details public by mid-April, but that deadline came
and went with no follow-through by the candidate.
It seems
obvious by now that Mr. Cayetano is doing what a lot of politicians do when
they think they’re leading a race: They duck debates and don’t allow themselves
to be bogged down by inconvenient details – in Mr. Cayetano’s case, his BRT
plan.
109 Days
& Counting
This is
where you come in, B.J. Mr.Cayetano formally announced
his candidacy on January 19, so it’s past time for him to own up and say
exactly how he’d address Oahu’s growing congestion problem if he kills rail. He
owes us more than vague references to a 12-year-old plan that was rejected a decade ago.
If it’s the
Harris Administration’s BRT plan he wants to install instead of rail, the list
of questions is virtually endless – and Yes2Rail started such a list at the end of a recent post.
If you
question Mr. Cayetano on the “elephant” that he so far has refused to discuss,
B.J., he will either provide those details or he won’t, and you’ll be in the
catbird seat – reporting on his response either way and giving the other media
in town something to write and talk about, too.
Good luck
in snagging the details of Mr. Cayetano’s BRT plan. We’re all counting on
you.
Aloha,
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