Mayor Mufi Hannemann yesterday gave his clearest indication yet that he would support placing the proposed commuter rail issue on the November ballot.

Hannemann, who has opposed a petition drive to put rail before voters, said he would back a separate move by the City Council to place it on the ballot if the wording is right and if it is paired with approval for a new public transit authority.

"I would endorse language that would put the public transit authority and the overall question of whether to proceed with rail transit together," he said in a news release. "This is the clearest and most sensible way to present this issue to voters."

Hannemann's statement follows Wednesday's 9-0 vote by the council in favor of a charter amendment to put the rail question before voters. That was the first of three votes needed to adopt the measure.

"As I've stated previously, if at least six council members are able to agree on a proposed charter amendment, we would certainly give it serious consideration," Hannemann said in the release. "We look forward to discussing this issue, and other ideas on transportation-related charter proposals, with the entire council."

The council is considering two transit-related charter amendments. One would ask voters in November whether the city shall "establish a steel wheel on steel rail transit system." The other asks voters whether the city should create a public transit authority with taxing power.

The proposed transit authority would oversee design, construction and operation of the $3.7 billion, 20-mile commuter rail, which would link East Kapolei to Ala Moana.

TOO CONFUSING?

Cliff Slater of the nonprofit group Stop Rail Now said putting the rail vote and the public transit authority into one question could confuse voters.

A voter may support rail but not approve of the transit authority.

"There's a perfectly valid reason to not be in favor of a transit authority because that's a way a politician can avoid accountability — by putting a layer between them and an authority with taxing authority," Slater said. "It's very dangerous to give un-elected officials taxing authority."

If voters want a rail system, Slater believes it should be run by the existing Department of Transportation Services, which is under city control.

Stop Rail Now says it has collected 42,000 signatures to place a proposed ordinance on the ballot. The Stop Rail Now ordinance reads: "Honolulu mass transit shall not include trains or rail."

In April, supporters of rail, including Hannemann and pro-rail council members, argued against the Stop Rail Now ballot initiative, saying the public has had a say on the project via elected representatives, extensive hearings and talk-story sessions.

In late June, Hannemann spent some of his campaign money on several ads attacking the Stop Rail Now movement. The ads argued that there had already been ample public imput.

"This whole (rail) process has been a model of representative democracy with public participation in action," Hannemann said in one ad. "The public has always been consulted at every step, including funding, design and planning."

The ads said local anti-rail groups are receiving support from right-wing special interests on the Mainland— a charge Stop Rail Now denied.

MAYOR'S EXAMPLES

On the issue of a public transit authority, Hannemann's statement cited transit authorities in Arizona, Utah and Los Angeles County as "examples that were created to provide public accountability over the construction, operation and maintenance of rail lines."

A public transit authority in Honolulu would be a "semi-autonomous entity similar in structure to the Board of Water Supply," according to the mayor's statement. It would be comprised of private sector representatives appointed by the city council and the mayor and should also include state representatives, the statement said.

A hearing on the charter amendments is scheduled for the city council's Executive Matters Committee meeting on Wednesday.