Nearly all 14 candidates for the Honolulu City Council's 5th District seat say they're unhappy with the council's decision to raise property tax rates this year and would have taken steps to avoid it.

Mail voting has begun in the special election to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Duke Bainum on June 9. The nearly 50,000 voters in the district have until Aug. 7 to select a new council member.

The candidates are hoping to capitalize on voter frustration over recent increases in city taxes and fees. The tax rate for residential property owners went from $3.29 per $1,000 of assessed value to $3.42 while fees, from bus fares to zoo admissions, also were raised.

City officials are to blame for the tax and fee increases and should resign, said candidate Jacques "Butch" Sims, a self-employed consultant. "Greed, corruption, ego and the fiscal irresponsibility of Honolulu's elected officials caused our current quandary," Sims said in a written response to an Advertiser questionnaire.

Other candidates said they would have tried harder to eliminate inefficiencies in the city or find other ways of raising revenues.

Phillip Rockwell, an information systems specialist, suggested "four-day workweeks, greener buildings and eliminating redundancies in services are possible ways to reduce spending without cutting programs or jobs."

Michael Cain proposed relaxing "vice laws" as one way of increasing revenues, by allowing more restaurants to obtain liquor licenses and by decriminalizing marijuana.

James Quimby, a case manager for a nonprofit, suggested scaling back the city's multibillion-dollar transit system.

Only one candidate suggested increased taxes should be part of the solution, and even then it was only in passing. Former union official George Waialeale said "city property tax will increase," but then added that seniors should be given tax breaks and that the city should look for more alternative revenue sources.

2ND ELECTION THIS YEAR

Council leaders said they can appreciate the candidates' frustrations with the tax rate hikes, but the council did take steps to keep spending down.

Council Budget Committee Chairman Nestor Garcia and Council Chairman Todd Apo said the council cut nonessential expenditures and eliminated vacant positions. Garcia and Apo also said there needs to be a major re-evaluation of how the city spends money.

The 5th District special elections comes on the heels of the council 3rd District special election held in April after the death of Councilwoman Barbara Marshall in February.

Like the 3rd District race, the 5th District election is primarily through mail-in ballots, although the city is setting up a polling place at City Hall from July 23 to Aug. 5 for those requiring an accessible voting machine.

If the 5th District voters follow the trend of their counterparts in Windward O'ahu, the turnout will be heavy and most votes will be returned early.

About 45 percent of Windward voters took part in their council election, selecting Ikaika Anderson, Marshall's former aide, for the job. A study by council staff showed that 50.6 percent of total votes cast were received by the city clerk's office during the first three days of eligible voting.

The field of 14 candidates in the 5th District race features a wide variety of candidates ranging from veteran politicians to first-time campaigners.

Political experts typically say that a short election season favors better-known candidates. But in the 3rd District race in April, voters selected Anderson over two former council members.

The better-known candidates in this race include: