budget, set priorities. that is what is important. the last thing you want to hear his government will raise the taxes. you have to identify inefficiencies' to reduce duplication, collaborative leadership's. seeing how we could collectively do things better to help all of the counties and states but most importantly at the end of the day make the tough decisions, clabber with the council to make sure you have a budget surplus instead of a budget deficit and threaten folks with the tax cut. >> thank you for that question. and the only candidate here had to face the tough decisions. and for four years i have had to balance the budget looking at whether we do increase taxes, lay off people, or cut the budget. and i want to say that i was facing a $1 billion plus

deficit. most importantly, we were able to balance the budget without any layoffs. really was about focusing on eliminating suspensions of business to business taxes. it was about increasing taxes on the wealthy, being selective of how he would do that. most importantly, it really was about cutting the budget. after a pleasure request by more than a billion dollars. really is about having discipline, and i have always believed to walk the talk, to like it will apply done rather than what they say, and i have four years' proven what i would do to. >> could not answer none of the above. the better it is time for the kendis to ask each other a question. once again, we have allotted a one minute response time. your question? >> we just talked about

taxes. so how can the people of hawaii to us that you will not raise taxes and/or increase the cost of living but yet you did so as mayor when you raise the taxes paid now you are promoting a bigger public project. can you explain how you're not going to raise taxes when indeed you did raise taxes or row? >> you're using a very selective memory tonight. i did not raise the tax. the state legislature did. i lobbied for it because i believe that we needed. and i also said that the other counties should have the option to do that. most importantly, you also are missing the fact that your counterpart was a strong supporter of rail. in fact or she said in her initial speech, i am looking forward to working with the new mayor of honolulu because both he and i have

been longtime supporters of rail. so i do not know what were you were living in back then, but certainly the tax that i asked for, the senator voted for a command a majority of the legislature because we were trying to follow the expressed will of the people 87 percent of the people wanted. have you and the government and the environmental impact study you would still be failing today. a commitment is to do with the people want. i am going to bring that back. >> moderator: 30 seconds. aiona: well, again, i think it is a matter of refreshing recollection of the people not only in this room but the people out there in regard to their tax that you had to approve because if you did not it would never have been in the pipeline now. the bottom line is this, every single one of you, if you remain to you and your children and grandchildren will be responsible for that tax imposed.

now we're talking about no identifiable investor. house can you improve that? >> moderator: thank-you. you have a chance to ask a question. hannemann: center, for 29 years in the legislature you have fashioned yourself to be collaborative, a consensus type of leader. yet things have not done better. they have gotten worse. state hospital crisis, an energy crisis, highest in the nation. and the state of our education system needs budget fixes right now with the conditions that there are. how can we be assured that if you could not do the job for 29 years as a legislator to you could fix a problem in four years as a governor when you're going to a bigger and greater job. >> thank you very much for that question. i love to be able to respond to it. you know, i am the only

candid it's here to have passed comprehensive restructuring of the public-school system, the only candid here who has passed legislation that allows public-private partnerships are public ostracism. i am the only candid here who has rejected calls for increasing taxes and really cut budget requests because i believe that that is what you, the people of hawaii, wanted. it is easy for people to say and talk when you are not really responsible for things. when you have the responsibility to do things -- you know, is easy to be a leader in taking a stand and say, and not going to raise taxes. it is hard to be a leader because it is about making things work to make a consensus with your colleagues, about being able to get legislation passed. i am running for governor because i know i can't do it as a legislator. i have to be governor to make these things work.

hannemann: every time i hear you say i did this guy did this, what about the 75 other that had to help you. and with respect to the public-private partnership, let me be clear, he did not move on a mechanism that would allow public-private partnerships to occur with his latest version. you can see right now, hawaii pacific and kaiser permanente. had he done that we would not have been able to face with we are doing now prepare kicking the can down the road with no solutions. we will fix that. >> moderator: your turn. ige: there have been only two times in the state has failed to balance the budget. the last two years have the administration. you gave us furlough fridays , withheld tax refunds, and you just stopped paying bills. how do you decide when to support and stand by the

governor and win to say you are just an observer and have no input? >> let me start, first of all, with for love friday's. i find it interesting that the union that agreed is now upset about it. why only now? it took two to agree. this was not a unilateral decision made only by the governor. the employer and employee had to agree. second, in regard to balancing the budget, let it be known that it is the executive branch that submits the budget. it is the legislature that makes the final approval of the budget. and as such in a balancing of the budget has to go through the legislature. one of 76, why did he let that happen? why did he let the mechanism he is complaining about not happen? certainly, why are you asking these questions to

the governor as opposed to me? it will be just as incumbent upon me to save your administration will be just like the abercrombie sooey administration. >> moderator: thank you. ige: even know, it is clear that the executive is the one who is tasked with balancing the budget. the legislature -- we passed a budget, but it is about implementation because the executive spends the money. they decide when and how it should be spent. the reality is the administration, the only two times in the history of the state that we ended in the red. most importantly, they had no strategy and how stop the spending. they simply stopped paying bills, with help your taxpayer refund, and that was there solution to a balanced budget successful. >> moderator: i think we're off to a pretty good start here. a lot of ideas at the table.

>> moderator: many more opportunities to ask them questions, and we will hear more. >> moderator: that's right. we will talk to them after this short break. ♪ >> you are watching campaign 2014, race for governor. >> moderator: welcome back. a moment now. you have known him about 12 years. tell us something we might not know. >> what is interesting, he was accepted into mit. never told his parents about it because he had a large family, was concerned about

his siblings ability to get their college education as well. it tells a lot about a person making a decision like that at the age of 18. >> i ask them how long have known each other and he said a long time. what is something we might not know. >> you figure athletes have a lot of rhythm. i don't think he knows how to dance. >> did you approve that? all right. thank you so much. how long have you known each other? >> over ten years. we know that he can dance and sing. but people don't know what i work closely with him, humble, warm guy that cares for people. he is warm and caring.

>> i think in advance of might be a good way to settle it. okay. as a question, first to answer. all three of you will benefit from the state and county generous retirement program that pension and health coverage for life. can the state afford to keep doing that? what reform the use support to reduce the cost? >> this is definitely something we need to have people come into the system and have been promised benefits. do not believe we should look to cut those benefits. the in the the government does have to prioritize and budget. in this city and county of, that we regularly included a retirement pension funds because it is a path. going forward, that is where the discussion needs to take place. can we afford to continue benefits at the cost it will take to do that. i would expect we could have

some good conversations because i have never had an acrimonious discussion with the public employees in is when i was doing collective bargaining at the county level. i have to make them recognize with the help of the legislation this is something we need to do going forward in looking at whether we can continue the kind of benefits we have been paying out through the years. >> moderator: you have 60 seconds. you will be next. ige: i am happy to report to you that our pension system is in great shape today. we have taken action over the last three years to really restructure the pension system to assure that it is sustainable. we have already reduced the benefits for new employees employed after june 2012. we have asked employees to pay a bigger portion of their retirement to fund the program. increase the retirement age so that they will have to

work later so that if you become a state employee you are going to have to work a little longer to get that pension. most importantly, we have capped overtime pay as a calculation into the retirement benefit because we felt for those employees that work respecting, it was not fair to the rest of the retirees. so we have taken action to insure that the pension system is solvent. we have also -- thank you very much. >> thank you for honoring the one minute light. >> i will acknowledge what the legislature has done, and i am pleased that they have done something about it because it is an unfunded liability when you add both the you t f and the pension side, it comes up to about $27 billion. let me say that again commit $27 billion. this is what has other cities in trouble who are currently bankrupt.

we cannot let that happen. the only problem i have with the legislature is that the payments will not be done. to make it all, that will not take place until 2019, four years from now. that gap will grow even more we have to do something. more so, i am not sure of the plan that they have right now is solid enough to whether some of the tough times we will be facing shortly. in particular what it does is, if we cannot -- if we get i have the revenues to pay up front from the regular budget or revenue we will take it from the general fund. this will impact other programs. >> there has been back and forth. let's get a more specific question. this will go to mr. david ige. >> i am a student who has been competing for the past two years. and i leave around rush hour and had noticed traffic is

getting increasingly worse. it took me about an hour to get to school, but now it takes me an hour and a half. will you support expanding so that another track can be built to serve the university? >> thank you for that question. i am very strong supporter of rail transit. i have been for the very beginning, the very first proposal. in fact, i was testifying as a high-school student in support because i do believe that transit is a quality of life issue in that transit system, if implemented today would definitely improve their quality of life. the issue of the general excise tax extension is a different one. it is basically a fiscal issue. i think that we need to let the program run. the current tax does not expire until into the 2020 s we need to see the implementation. we need to hold the

hardboard, make sure they give us an efficient and effective system, and then i can look at to the expansion . aiona: continued the excise tax. here we go again. this is a city project, not estate projects. here we go, coming back to this day to ask for an increase for something that this city, when they designed this for a project said that the excise tax that we now have in place would cover the cost of this construction project, not anything more, not anything less. they said it would come on time and on budget. what we know is it is not on time or budget. they want to extend this. this is the kind of that you will have paid you are going to have one that will look without a second's thought about it. let's just raise the tax. the know what it does?

it affects everything that we do them every service and product. so i would not be in favor of extending it. this is a city project. the city needs to figure it out for themselves how they will extend this project with their own funds. >> moderator: one minute. hannemann: this was always a collaborative partnership from the beginning with the state commit county, and fence. the fact that this is a community that needs a transit solution. boggles my mind. suffice it to say, i think we have to assure everyone that we will do it right in be prudent about the tax dollars we're already using. before i left office and left $865 million in contingency funds to take care of some of these expenses, but i think we need to return to 10% of the g.t. that the state keeps.

they keep tin percent of the total amount paid of the past seven years that is $140 million that guinness to the general fund. up or out and out raid. they should give it back. we said we needed that half percent increase to fund the rail system. so that is a special fund that will not happen under my watch. >> moderator: this is about gender harassment. it comes from nicholas st. cook. >> despite the recent growth of cambridge, still persecuted in schools. how do you plan on ensuring the safety and acceptance of these individuals? >> i will not tolerate discrimination to myra spent, bullying of any individual, and i do not care what their gender, nationality, ethnic origin. part of the reason why my parents moved here as immigrants folks is because this is a land of opportunity. should not matter how long

you have lived your if you come recently, that does not go into the mix. we will be strong, vigilant, work with the proper authorities to ensure that no matter where you go to school, be it public or private, i think we need to have a say, make sure we have good laws, rules, and regulations to insure everyone feels safe. this is hawaii. we pride ourselves on the spirit of a lot and treating everybody with dignity and grace and start from the top as a government and recognizing that. thank you for that question. kakaako. we have had several collaborative task force. it is something that i think that we can all agree that bullying is bad and we need to stop. the challenge is always how to legislate and how to ensure and enforce a law

that is enforceable. so that task force has been focused on working with all the stakeholders of public and private schools to talk about what efforts can be made. in case students, students can be part of the solution because their the ones that are on the frontline. is now working with public and private as well, about how they can help to educate the children, how to teach them appropriate etiquette. a lot of the bullying occurs on line which is outside of the specific physical location. aiona: i think you for the question because it is something near and dear to my heart. you know, it really boils down to -- i don't think you will find anyone in this room that would tolerate that they hear. boils down to the family to

compete but the strength in regards to the seventh at the district a is jessica intrinsic. both tasks assigned out. it is a cultural shift where we have gone to the point we have to make a change. and look forward to working with our families. i will task to make sure we can get that change in that big, strong foundation. as a substitute teacher there are a couple of things that i take away. one is parental involvement. >> thank you. thank you. let's talk about executive experience. we will start with you. give us two things that you have done, bigger accomplishments in your career that people here and say, that guy deserves to be governor. >> the first thing that i would say when i took early retirement and went to work at the pacific which was a

venture start up, an internet startup and became project manager, and our dream was to create a layer of facilities all across the state. l.a., honolulu, sydney, seoul, singapore, we wanted to be a premier datacenter company in the planet obviously at that time. so it really was a challenge. as you know, internet speed is like seven times usual and it is not first to market 21st to market. i was proud to be wanted complete the first data center and as part of the team then expanded to l.a.'s , sydney, singapore. and so it really is about private sector experience. aiona: amelie the most important for me is being

the lieutenant governor for the state of hawaii. look at that as something that is natural for any governor because i have the honor to energy to not only be a part of an administration but to gain that experience, to gain that knowledge to see and interact with an executive that had to make this tough decisions. with my experience on the bench, and i think that this is where our campaign theme of trust, respect, and balance comes in. i understand what it means to be a decision maker, make those tough decisions in regards to families. are the toughest decisions i had to make was terminated parental rights. is it tough decision to make, but if you do not have trust and respect, and balance, there is no way you can make decisions such as that. hannemann: watching people's money was we did. we never saved money before.

we did it there. we never rated from special funds and let the budget -- left a budget surplus every year. number two, we fixed old infrastructure such as the sewage system. right now we are in better shape than before. we ended a decade-long lawsuit against the city. unfortunately we had this to expel, but we fix the problem and brought new infrastructure into the community such as real which i contend is the right thing to do. while doing all of that we managed to make our city the leading digital city in america and are continuing to be one of the safest big cities in america and of planting new programs like curbside recycling and a third of boiler at fifth to convert more. and while doing all of that i found time to help save here in hawaii. you can do it. >> thank you. >> thank you, candid it's. i am standing here with another political science

student. his question is about legalizing marijuana. the first chance to address this question. >> other states have legalized the recreational use of marijuana. legitimate subjects which should be discussed. aiona: i would not be supportive of legalizing marijuana. my decision is based upon my a experience as a circuit court, family court judge in the trenches to understanding the effects of it all. all we have to do is look at the experience we're having right now in colorado and washington. it is not the greatest. they're finding more trouble, more crime in a lot of other things that are affecting them in regard to the legalization of rwanda because what it comes down to his basically how we monitor, distribute, and basically controlled this commodity, if that is what they're looking at it as. is basically what i would call a way to insure in

revenue shortfall, and we cannot go down that line and if there is consensus in the legislature on one issue or bipartisan consensus, it is on this issue. thank you. >> do you support legalizing marijuana? aiona: i have always been opposed to legalizing marijuana, and that position continues to hold. i think there is overwhelming evidence that it could lead to other drugs. i am concerned about it being in the hands of minors and the like. secondly, and endorsed by the statewide organization of police officers. door of the reasons they did that is because of my strong stance against drug and drug abuse. there are those who say they needed for medicinal purposes. i am willing to consider that and talk to folks about it. right now i still am opposed to legalization of marijuana across the board. >> same question. ige: thank you very much for

that question. marijuana is a schedule want to read classified by the federal government, which means it is illegal for you to distribute, sell, and i believe that our laws should be consistent. until the federal government takes action to legalize, i think it is inappropriate for the state. i voted against medicinal use, and it really was because there was a legal way to get it to india could not understand how you would tell a patient that they could use it for medicinal purposes, but the only way to get it is to buy from a drug dealer or get the plan and a great yourself. so i am open to the notion of dispensaries and figure out some way for people who needed for medicinal purposes to be able to get it without going through a drug dealer. >> moderator: you are next . >> with all of the oil

spills, a massive molasses bill and the onset of invasive species, in recent months, are you going to do to protect the natural averment? >> we need to reduce our dependence upon oil, straightforward. i come out with an energy platform plan that says, in effect, want to move us to more renewal energy, and embrace geothermal. it's us closer to renewable energy and also creates competition in order to make sure that we get to a smart card technology as opposed to the only year that we have now which is conducive to just oil. but if, in fact, we have spills, we have to be proactive about it. i am concerned what the cuts to the department of health. i am concerned about the cuts to the department of agriculture and the like. these things speak to a governor who will be proactive of protecting the environment and as the ability to bring a coalition of folks when these things

happen, but it is always better to be prepared as opposed to reactive to be so you have strong support from the. read it quickly and it put us on a better footing so that those bills will not happen again. >> certainly this past session we took action exactly in that area. we can hire more inspectors. it really is about being proactive in the incoming shipments that we get. and we want to have inspectors being able to find invasive species. the second thing we did is funded the committee. and they are the people who are tasked with finding the best way to eradicate invasive species. for a long time this was a federally funded program, but we believe it was time that the state's step up and

we made the biggest appropriation in the history of the state of hawaii, $5 million. that is about action. i look forward to the opera to this serve as governor so that we can implement these programs. i think the people of hawaii understand the threat to invasive species bring to our community today. ♪ i agree with our colleagues in regards to what we need to do with the governor mariculture, health, and making it a priority. i also believe that we lack the resources and some of the other personnel that we need to make sure that we can carry your know, take care of our pristine environment. i also brought that on the other hand, something and mentioned the other day at a forum mirror at in regards to when we talk about efficiency. i notice for the panel that when it comes to efficiency it is our young people, our children to have taken the lead. we have done a great job of educating our young people in regards to our

environment and how it is being affected. i think that is the front line. and we talked about being proactive and preventive care that is where it starts i want to urge everybody to continue to speak about the need to be culturally sensitive. >> moderator: nearly one hour and. we have come almost full circle, back to the health connector, something all candid it's said they would like to address. given that you say you want to change or eliminate the obamacare of connecticut would you wanted universal health care coverage and how do we get it? ige: absolutely. hawaii has been a pioneer in terms of universal health coverage. this is something we can be proud of. we have had more citizens have health insurance than any other state in the country, and it has resulted in the longest life expectancy in the country. we have the lowest health insurance costs in the country. we have the lowest per

capita medicare costs because our seniors have had access to quality health care their entire life. this is something to what clearly, i think we can all be proud of. it is something that will allow us to really move forward in a way that makes sense. i forgot the question. sorry. >> moderator: do you still want universal health care? ige: in dicey because it is about being able to get access to quality health care, everyone to regardless of their income should have access to the health care said they can be ensured the opportunity to retire. aiona: the cost of universal health care, everyone would agree that we want that to happen. but, see, this is where if you are blind to politics you will jump into something that we do not need, the affordable care act. a lot of good things about the affordable care act, but

really come has accomplished what it needed to accomplish the overwhelming answer is no. and a long run it will cost us. how do we change that? is a federal issue. it is a federal issue. we have to be smart in who we elect as representatives for our congressional delegation. i will put a plug in for charles, someone who must get elected because we need the balance. just like how we need balance right here in state government. >> moderator: mr. mufi hannemann. hannemann: absolutely, i applaud and appreciate all of the effort we have had in the past have this prepaid health coverage that ensures everyone here in the state of hawaii can be insured. every time i hear people express support for that i wonder in the legislature why they voted to approve the federal funding to start the health connective system. i have asked for an opt out waiver.

it cannot happen until 2017. we need to continue to be supportive of insurance companies that cannot provide this because we are and have been a model for how we take care of people, put them on insurance programs. out they can still afford it and this will be the challenge going forward. i pledge my administration support to continue to strengthen of we have been known for as opposed to weakening from time to time with several mandates that don't make any sense of all. >> moderator: a little more now. you will be first, duke aiona per request and is from kayla hahn. >> it is expensive for neighbor island see is to fly home for school. i no there has been talk. how much tax payer money are you willing to commit? aiona: he will answer that question shortly. at we have done 64 rooms, and i have asked mr. mufi

hannemann that question time end time out, not everyone. if we don't have a private investor it means we will do it by way of public funds. i am not going to burden you, my grandchildren, my children, as i mentioned earlier, with the tax bill that will be with you forever and all the increase as time goes. that cannot happen. unless we have the specifics of the details, and i welcome c-span2 to talk about that, i would be supportive if it is solid, financially viable and we can make it happen. i have been flying a lot of the neighbor islands, and you're right. it is expensive. i think my colleagues would agree with that .. you know, it is the same old same old type of comments you hear. when you can add to my job that the people what they blame it on the fact that we cannot afford it. let me put out a plan. number one, we need a

collaborative process to make this happen before county mayor's and the governor to work together. secondly, i intend to go to the department of transportation maritime administration. that is where the funds are to do shipbuilding. that is where the funds are to provide loans and grants to be able to do this. i know my way around a predator transportation because that is how was able to get their funding with the help of our congressional delegation. at the end of the day i support the act because this has to be done with an american bomb. there is interest from shipbuilders, people who have talked to myself and others recently had a conference. we have all lot of it could discussion. ige: thank you for that question. i have been traveling a lot.

i feel your pain. you know, before i decide to run for governor i really had made a whole lot of trips, but this is one area that i do believe that in the priority of things that we have before the state legislature in the state of policy, i cannot see taxpayer funds going to something like this. his expenses. if there is a business out there and willing to do it, if there are federal funds or other sources that could find such a project, i certainly would be willing to be a partner in helping develop the as long as we follow the rule, and complete all of the community engagement the above be required. and i think that would be very important adding that on top of the school libraries and facilities.

we are live from the conference center. ♪ .. a >> >> and to bring them to the state of hawaii this is a

major university athletic program. are much like to see the state be much more supportive and creative to make sure to use the sponsorship of our athletic teams. i want to ensure that type of marketing creativity. when we have successful athletic programs unless the community like no other. and i believe if we have a governor that understands that with the ability to reach out to the private sector there is a lot of interest did a jesse the nba and nfl and would love to secure their assistance and i have a proven track record to do business in asia and the pacific and the united states there will have the note struggler champion the and i if elected governor.

>> also mentioned a our president is in the front row listening closely. ige: i am alumnae university of hawaii three times and i got my bachelor's in electrical engineering and m.b.a. from the college of business of nothing more near and dear to my heart than a rainbow warrior. but i speak for autonomy for the university for the regions to make we do will lump-sum budget and we give the university total flexibility how those dollars should be distributed through all various programs for the university. and as mentioned before idled thank you legislators to decide how much should be spent for that program but that said i emigrate

supporter of the way each athletics it is a powerful message i believe it is so important for the young people to give them opportunities they would not have academically. >> if we identify how we are related i have been a ticket holder over 30 years. there you go. but something of this nature the legislature or the governor we should be supporting the university of hawaii i said this from the very beginning and the problem with university of hawaii is the politicians' insert themselves every time there is a little issue. the fourth president in 10 years the election and process was not without criticism or intervention or controversy. why is that? we need to allow that leadership to route then we

just see the decisions being made where they should be made the legislature and the executive branch to do that we should support them if we have to build them out because that is what your asking then so be it but right now we need leadership to answer this problem for what needs to be done. >> a question on agriculture >> could you support a subsidy program for local farmers that would lower local food prices to be more self-reliant as opposed to importing? >> when i started this campaign more than one year ago, i had a superficial knowledge of agriculture industry in the house why a battle for the last year i had the opportunity to meet with many farmers all across

the state to talk about challenges and opportunities a and their vision. i am very bullish of the future of agriculture but it is to be sustainable and it is interesting the mechanisms of farming today are so different than one year ago. i did visit a pig farm where they were standing in the middle and it did smell like the pig farm there are so many techniques to be proactive to support farmers in a sustainable way civics should we subsidize the white farmers? aiona: anywhere between 80 and 85 percent of our food is imported. absolutely we need to make sure we have more food

security. if we cut our dependence by 10 percent that would be an increase of $300 million for the state of hawaii. just that alumni and for it all the way. right now the farmer, the rancher the average age is 59 so we need to beef up the educational program and i believe university of hawaii is going for that we need unnaturally competitive industry and we have so much diversification to have in agriculture as part of that. >> nobody stands stronger i believe the best years are ahead of us it is important to recognize with the department of agriculture with 7 percent going to the department of agriculture

then big farmers or small farmers need to have access to land and the government can help you need to have financing from time to time with low interest loans also help with the invasive species not enough inspectors with the department of agriculture to be proactive with that. that is the kind of thing in my administration but you need a governor that knows how to market we have a whole wide brand name that is wonderful. that is magical i am ready to go throughout the world to promote what we do best. >> moderator: the time is up for another multiple choice question for all candidates. choose one of the three statements in a sentence unions have too much power. they have about the right

amount of power or public unions don't have enough power. aiona: is the first one to much power. if you look at the history of the public union no question it was designed and developed and implemented but we're to the point right now where it has gone too far so as a result the special interest run the state of hawaii a good example was a few weeks ago in the newspaper there was an editorial in which the writer faulted an executive

about public health hospitals and where it is right now and they're trying to fix the problem and he said we stopped that bill and we are damned proud of it. but just shows the arrogance and the power the public unions have been the state of hawaii. >> moderator: too much power? hannemann: it depends on the leader if he is weak and indecisive he cannot but if you have a strong but there but honesty and lead by example never ask them to take pay cuts without doing its yourself with a first entity in the state of hawaii with the collective bargaining situation would call a 5% pay cut a year

ahead i ask the political appointees to take that up front. at the same time to recognize the need for public/private partnership at the state hospitals and i know some have a difficult time accepting that. is all the patients enter health care and a doctor shortage that we have 750 doctors and most import derecognize this is for all the people of hawaii and more than just the jobs issue. ige: i think unions have just about the right amount of power we should look at the after results of the election the last several years and two were the unions supporting and who won the election? it was a historic victory outspent 10 / one only one

endorsement and my opponent had the lion's share of everything else but it really is elections are about people and community and caring enough to become active to ask the question to challenge candidates to really find out who you believe to be the best person to represent you and i do believe in hawaii is still about community. to spend the time to make a difference. >> dead big storm is spinning our way right now to all the crews working overtime in the days ahead to keep the lights on. >> moderator: on the policy level deal think hawaii electric has been a barrier to said development of alternative energy in hawaii? hannemann: despite their intentions to convince us otherwise i do. there too intent on oil we

need to weave ourselves away. the public utilities commission and cannot with a report that said there is too much focus for yesterday's solutions for tomorrow's problem that is why the only candidate running for governor to come up with a detailed program to remove dependence on oil to embrace geothermal and yes to seek a private partner because in 23 countries around the world in eight states and 76 nations they ordered us to remove the needle so it is 100 percent renewable energy and we need a smart kid technology also. idle believe hawaiian electric is in that position to do that. ige: i don't think whole i electric has been a barrier

but we do have a process in the state hasn't had the leadership necessary to move forward in important areas we did restructure the public utilities commission because we felt they were moving too slowly creating a new executive director to have a professional manager but the mission is tasked with weighing all those technical issues. there are real technical engineering safety problems about reliability and utility engineers, yes they will air on that side but i believe it needs to be active to drive the utility to allow more for our community we have given them the tools to do that.

>> moderator: to say --. aiona: to say it is a barrier to energy cost would not be accurate is a combination of hawaiian electric with a policy that was a store called the hawaii clean energy initiatives enacted 2008 was historical to shift hawaii away from what we have been known to have for decades if not years which was the reliance on fossil fuels now we change the path -- policy and it is a cultural shift. we had a lack of leadership the last four years with the executive branch we have all together we will, within the next few days to show it will be the overriding principle to lower the cost

of energy. >> moderator: your time is up. one more chance for the candidates to ask a question on any topic senator ige we will get yours first. ige: mr. mufi hannemann and a unanimous decision the hawaii supreme court ruled you destroy the livelihood's by blacklisting states from working at the facility. you claim no involvement but city officials testified that as the mayor you were consulted on the decision. deal agree with the supreme court decision now? hannemann: this is the second time you have asked me the question you are on the losing battle with you as the most executive experience for this job you can go to my character that's fine. but be clear the incident i had no direct involvement.

the decision to suspend was made by the corporation counsel to make that recommendation as well as the union of these two employees. third, the court ruled in our favor every step along the way at the lower-court level and overturned by the supreme court by three judges because to had recused themselves. i stand by my character. and my integrity and asking my record at city hall as opposed to engaging in character assassination. thank you. >> the hawaii supreme court did look at this issue to conclude the mayor had overstepped his bounds and remanded fraction how they

should be compensated for the fact they were blacklisted and careers destroyed it is about the fax i encourage all of you to read this election is about leadership and leadership style and those issues. >> moderator: your time is up. moving on mr. mufi hannemann? hannemann: mr. duke aiona u.s. said before the government should get out of the way and let business do its thing but you have heard me talk about public/private partnership to save our state hospitals now you say you embrace public-private partnership which means government and business working together is seems that you talked out of both sides. what is your view? all things and let business take care of business or the

public-private partnership? aiona: thank you for that. i think he oversimplifies the general statement to get out of the way of business. obviously a public-private partnership is limited to certain areas to take advantage of. when i say government get out of the way i mean that. too many times government puts up barriers so businesses cannot thrive a good example is the permit process i voted time and time again that the permit process bog us down a project to date and plan for it day but not done another seven years down the line government has to get out of the way so it is the way we administer it.

hannemann: all i have to say is you have made it very clear the message is to get ad of the way to let business to its thing and you cannot have it both white ways. that is what gives politicians a bad name to a psyche's they never vote to raise taxes on pensions which he has done that repeatedly put the amendment changed that opportunity so senator ige and lt. governor duke aiona. >> moderator: you have a last question. aiona: talking about pension taxes has to the people of a white judge their leadership ability when you flip flop on serious issues as tax and pensions and child education? ige: it is remarkable to me the election process sometimes embarks on though

worst but i would get the facts became chairman of the ways and means committee i had a responsibility to all of you to deliver a balanced budget to ensure that we ended in the red unlike the duke aiona administration. when i became chair the deficit was 200 million and within three months it had grown at $1.2 billion in a $5 billion budget and it was clear to me we have to look all options. yes i did look at that as an option and briefing those involved that the end of the day we found a way to balance the budget cutting more than $1 billion out a budget request item understand reality see more

taxes. >> their question was flip-floping on pensions and early childhood education in 2003 he supported a pension bill and before he was endorsed by the aspca he was in favor of early childhood education. >> moderator: that is our debate. candidates thank you so much for your time and your dedication to be here tonight. [applause] things to community leaders and students we hope you learned something. >> moderator: the general election is coming up with complete coverage leading up >> november 4th is your civic duty. get out there. ♪ ♪

. . from the national cathedral in washington d.c., this is two hours.