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JARail Vote Derailed
City officials say that the proposed vote on the new Rail system might not be possible. The City Clerk Denise De Costa said that the city charter prohibits a ballot initiative so close to the next general election. The Clerk’s Office also stated that the issue would not be voted upon in the November election.
Stop Rail Now, a nonprofit citizens group, has been collecting signatures since April to place a question on the ballot for a new ordinance. The new rules would state that "Honolulu mass transit shall not include trains or rail," and is an effort to stop Mayor Mufi Hannemann from building a planned 20-mile elevated system from Kapolei to Ala Moana. The group announced recently that it had already collected 37,000 signatures (of the 44,535 it needs) for its petition.
The new ruling by the City Clerk leaves the group with only a few options. The group could fight the decision in court, continue to collect signatures for a future special election or the City Council could put the question onto another City Charter amendment in the upcoming election. While a court decision could be costly, it does have advantages over the other two options, namely ease and political expediency. In the meantime, the group says that it will weigh options and continue to collect signatures in case of a vote at a later date.
