The Honolulu City Council will confront unprecedented challenges in the coming year.

Overseeing the planning and construction of Honolulu's largest public works project ever. Funding the ongoing needs of a city with public safety concerns, diminishing landfill space and aging sewers and roads.

Above all, the city anticipates a crushing shortfall in property tax revenue. Closing the gap will take a council of nine people who can work together toward this goal and offer new ideas to enable the preservation of core services.

Vote-by-mail ballots will be sent out this week for the District 5 vacancy that opened with the death of Councilman Duke Bainum. Fourteen candidates want to serve the 3 1/2 years remaining in his term.

From that wide field, The Advertiser endorses Matt Matsunaga, the former state senator representing some of the same communities, as the candidate best equipped to step into the job and bring a fresh perspective to the problems.

Matsunaga's most powerful rival for the job representing this central Honolulu district is Ann Kobayashi, who held the seat until her decision to run against Mayor Mufi Hannemann in his re-election bid last fall. Kobayashi's decision, made in the 11th hour before the filing deadline, had the effect of limiting the field of contenders for the council seat she was leaving. Kobayashi denies that this was her intent, but the maneuver angered many in her district.

A veteran of City Hall and the state Capitol with a long history of public service in the district, Kobayashi has maintained strong community ties throughout, so many believe any lingering bruises will heal.

Even so, Kobayashi also has a history of being at the center of the council's chronic factionalism and in-fighting, something the city cannot afford in the months ahead.

Matsunaga, 50, has been out of office since giving up his seat to run for lieutenant governor in 2002, pursuing a private-sector career in business law. Many observers were surprised to see him seeking a seat in municipal government, after 10 years in the state Senate and bids for statewide and congressional posts. As the son of the late U.S. Sen. Spark Matsunaga, he has shown an abiding interest in national issues.

However, Matsunaga said, his Capitol years taught him that nuts-and-bolts municipal concerns were often at the heart of petitions for help from constituents, and that there can be great satisfaction in grappling with such problems.

In addition to applying his acumen as a certified public accountant to the upcoming budget review, Matsunaga hopes to ramp up the city's existing energy-saving initiatives, such as air-conditioning buildings using cold seawater, as a cost-cutting strategy.

Among his other platform planks is kupuna care, and he rightly argues that a regulatory system ought to strike a balance between the need for care homes and their effect on neighborhoods, a potent issue in Manoa.

While in the Senate, Matsunaga was best known for his work as co-chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, a powerful post but one that is not for the faint-hearted. He was among those who weathered the political storm over the reappointment of Attorney General Margery Bronster, whom Matsunaga supported.

Among his credits, Matsunaga claims passage of 70 bills, including Hawai'i's version of "Megan's Law" for the registration of sex offenders, and legislation closing a loophole in the prosecution of auto thefts and directing first-time drug offenders to treatment, among many others.

Former associates and observers point to Matsunaga's collegial spirit, as well as his independent voice, as chief among his assets. Those qualities will be needed.

The political and economic landscape ahead looks perilous, requiring experienced leaders adept at consensus-building. Matt Matsunaga can bring such skills to the job.

Voters in District 5, a diverse, mature district in the urban core that is poised for renewal and redevelopment, should give him the opportunity to take on Honolulu's challenges.