Latest / The One Oʻahu Podcast with Mayor Rick Blangiardi / Mayor Blangiardi on his trip to China and the departure of his managing Director Mike Formby

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Mayor Blangiardi on his trip to China and the departure of his managing Director Mike Formby · The One Oʻahu Podcast with Mayor Rick Blangiardi

• 0:14
  Welcome to the One Oahu podcast.
• 0:16
  I'm your host, Brandi Higa, and today is Thursday, May 14th, 2026.
• 0:21
  We're back this week with Mayor Blangiardi It feels like it's been forever.
• 0:24
  You're back from China.
• 0:26
  There are some highlights of your trip.
• 0:27
  What got done? Wow. How long do we have?
• 0:30
  Actually, China was an amazing place with the three cities in nine days.
• 0:35
  Started off in Fuzhou, which is a city of 8.5 million.
• 0:38
  Sister city of ours for the last five years.
• 0:42
  Then Chengdu, which is a city of 21 million.
• 0:45
  Is city again 15 years.
• 0:47
  And, and then ultimately in Beijing.
• 0:50
  And the trip was really designed for some, celebration,
• 0:53
  if you will, commemoration of our sister city agreements.
• 0:57
  But really leveraging that in pursuit of pandas and, made it really very clear.
• 1:02
  So in for job, they have a place called Panda World
• 1:05
  where you have five giant pandas and ten red pandas.
• 1:08
  Incredible facility.
• 1:10
  There's about 8 million visitors a year.
• 1:12
  I met with the teams there and went on the stand.
• 1:14
  Some of that and just the initial orientation.
• 1:17
  And then we did a whole bunch of other things, too,
• 1:19
  because one of the things
• 1:20
  that really surprised me
• 1:21
  is that they really made a big deal out about coming over.
• 1:23
  It meant a lot to them.
• 1:24
  You know, in the goodwill department and not everybody goes to visit in China.
• 1:29
  It's a long way to go. 22 a half hour trip.
• 1:34
  And, you know, the whole
• 1:35
  the whole being gets turned upside down because of the time differences and that,
• 1:39
  that, you know, and so it's it's challenging in that regard.
• 1:43
  But they couldn't have been any more welcoming.
• 1:45
  And, so I, you know, I got to be with some pretty high up people.
• 1:49
  Did a couple of speaking engagements there,
• 1:51
  which I didn't even know I was going to be doing,
• 1:53
  and I walked into one, the very first day were there.
• 1:58
  We did a walk through this museum, have a cuisine museum,
• 2:02
  and, which was really fascinating about Chinese food was really.
• 2:06
  But we had a flight to that next thing, they actually went to a hall on the.
• 2:09
  So this will be easy.
• 2:10
  It was like 250 people in there I mean, anyway, so they made it big.
• 2:13
  It was good. So that conversation's in full show,
• 2:17
  which were the people we knew we were going to meet with,
• 2:20
  then got upgraded when we got to Chengdu because they really liked everything.
• 2:23
  They heard a few jokes.
• 2:24
  I ended up meeting with some other
• 2:26
  really, vulnerable people, including the mayor of Chengdu.
• 2:29
  But, I know the other sessions and all of this was
• 2:34
  a lot of grilling and different things like that.
• 2:36
  And, I had some business executives traveling with me.
• 2:39
  That really helped.
• 2:42
  One of them was, Andrew Chang on Spender Express has 2600 stores.
• 2:46
  And and Alex Su, who owns the Moon Farms and looking at, some possibilities there.
• 2:52
  Anyway,
• 2:54
  again, the conversation was focused on the Panthers.
• 2:56
  I wanted a pretty conservative story there, which,
• 2:59
  you know, about 30 years ago they had about 100 pandas.
• 3:01
  Now, today they have about over 3000.
• 3:04
  So all kinds of pandas, baby ones, old ones, big ones.
• 3:08
  But really got into, looking
• 3:12
  at the kind of facilities that they provide for the pandas.
• 3:15
  It's an indoor outdoor kind of thing.
• 3:16
  And talking to people.
• 3:18
  And then from Chengdu again, they upgraded to the people
• 3:21
  were supposed to talk to because the feedback was really good.
• 3:24
  I ended up getting in front of the first Vice minister of Foreign Affairs,
• 3:28
  this, Minister Ma, who is the fourth highest guy in China
• 3:32
  and, and the President Yang of the whole thing.
• 3:35
  And, those are very formal meetings.
• 3:38
  And, specifically
• 3:41
  about the pandas in my by that time, I'm ask you, who's this guy in this,
• 3:45
  you know, turns out this guy is President XI Jinping.
• 3:49
  And so, anyway, but we got
• 3:52
  we got the sign off from these guys all positive, all right, to green.
• 3:56
  And then I've been working with the consul general out of Los Angeles,
• 3:59
  who is ambassador rank, consul general. Gao
• 4:03
  and so
• 4:03
  I had to write a letter to President XI Jinping, a formal letter
• 4:07
  of not only a reduction, but request,
• 4:11
  submitted to vice consul,
• 4:14
  consul general, rather Gao and actually, he wrote back as I was sitting there,
• 4:19
  you know, he sat down, I'm going to write a letter.
• 4:20
  And all of a sudden, this thing that's got an elevator
• 4:21
  all the way to the president of the company of country, which I didn't know.
• 4:25
  Right, is a world famous figure.
• 4:27
  And, asked to kind of make my case to him
• 4:32
  in writing presses, like I've been doing, which was surprise to me.
• 4:37
  So you sit down to write a letter like that,
• 4:40
  you think, well, how do you begin?
• 4:41
  You know, what do you say?
• 4:42
  How do you do this?
• 4:43
  So. Oh, I oh, yeah.
• 4:46
  Yeah, yeah. Exactly.
• 4:48
  That thought crossed my mind.
• 4:49
  Yeah, I really did.
• 4:50
  And, so anyway, so we submit the letter
• 4:54
  and I had the comms team look at it, and Krishna looked at it too.
• 4:58
  And everybody there is pretty good.
• 4:59
  Everybody made it a little trickier there. It's okay.
• 5:01
  It's a pretty good letter.
• 5:02
  You know, it was a summary, a little bit of the trip that I had,
• 5:05
  what the agenda was, what we got accomplished,
• 5:08
  and really the request so have a couple is assigned to us
• 5:13
  because, you know, there's only four in the United States
• 5:15
  right now, two in San Diego, two in the National Zoo in Washington, DC.
• 5:19
  So anyway, and it's the national treasure.
• 5:21
  And they make no bones about that when you get off the airplane in Chengdu,
• 5:24
  right there at the airport was a huge panda sculpture.
• 5:27
  I mean, the pandas are like, everywhere, you know?
• 5:32
  So I spit the letter and I get it.
• 5:34
  I'm always sharing the story because it was really funny
• 5:37
  because I was as far as I could be.
• 5:38
  But I thought, you know, I got some feedback from,
• 5:43
  Consul General Gao.
• 5:45
  He said, no, you said your letter is too business like we want.
• 5:48
  Should be warmer, more personal.
• 5:50
  I said, this is crazy.
• 5:52
  I we I was sitting there thinking, how do I write it?
• 5:54
  Serious enough, you know, to a guy like,
• 5:58
  XI Jinping and,
• 6:01
  anyway, we wrote we wrote the letter.
• 6:03
  I think it came off, better.
• 6:06
  And we'll see.
• 6:07
  So it's now it his, but I'm hoping
• 6:10
  for a kind of a quick answer and,
• 6:13
  you know, the support I think we have is really good.
• 6:18
  So if once we get that authorization
• 6:21
  that will get into an MOU agreement, they'll send us the specs and whatever.
• 6:24
  No, the fugitive wants to work with us.
• 6:26
  They actually encourage us to work with them,
• 6:28
  which is our first sub more than San Diego, because they
• 6:32
  honestly, I know it's it's a national treasure,
• 6:34
  but they got people there with a lot of experience and
• 6:39
  and they care so much about these bands, which I can see.
• 6:41
  I mean, it's a really incredible.
• 6:43
  And I think they get about 8 million people
• 6:45
  a year to visit at this panda world.
• 6:49
  And in, in, in Chengdu
• 6:51
  they get 12 million a year, but they limited to a million a month.
• 6:55
  That's how in demand.
• 6:56
  I mean, these things are pretty incredible.
• 6:58
  So I'm excited because I think it will be a really nice
• 7:02
  plus for our zoo, to say the least.
• 7:04
  I think it'll be really great for our local people.
• 7:06
  It's a great goodwill mission. That's how the pandas were positioned.
• 7:09
  It's sort of a goodwill, thing.
• 7:11
  Between our our state, if you will, Hawaii.
• 7:15
  And certainly assist the city of Honolulu with Chengdu infusion.
• 7:19
  But, but I think it's also going to be a great tourist attraction to,
• 7:23
  I just feel that way.
• 7:24
  So I'm really I'm really, I'm counting on getting them a lot of work.
• 7:30
  I want to raise some money privately.
• 7:31
  We got to build a facility.
• 7:33
  We'll get all the specs when we get the MOU,
• 7:35
  what the requirements will be.
• 7:37
  But I know some of them, roughly.
• 7:39
  And, I've told them I felt confident we can meet all the criteria.
• 7:43
  So that's I it was an incredible whirlwind.
• 7:46
  Nine days in China. Incredible.
• 7:50
  Pretty exciting too.
• 7:50
  But I know that you came home to maybe some jarring news.
• 7:54
  I know some tough news in the departure of your managing director, Mike.
• 7:57
  Yeah, was jarring. You're right.
• 7:59
  I mean, what does that mean to you?
• 8:00
  Yeah.
• 8:01
  Well, you know, as I've said,
• 8:04
  and I'll say it publicly on this broadcast, you know, when I think back,
• 8:07
  you know, when we got elected, the biggest liability in the equation was me.
• 8:10
  I was the guy who just got elected to an office and didn't have any political
• 8:14
  background per se.
• 8:15
  Not that I wasn't aware of issues and different things like that living here
• 8:19
  all these years.
• 8:20
  But I had a lot to learn, and it was really obvious to me.
• 8:24
  There was a lot I didn't know.
• 8:26
  And Mike, and my selection of him to be my managing director,
• 8:29
  and we only worked together for 3 or 4 months
• 8:31
  prior to getting elected, because when we won in the primary
• 8:35
  and then Colleen Hanabusa, the late
• 8:38
  Colleen on a bus, supported me.
• 8:42
  Mike came with that support, and that's how he and I never because
• 8:46
  we were in Covid, we weren't actually physically that close to each other.
• 8:49
  We were exchanging emails a lot, and, you know,
• 8:53
  kind of reading each other's thoughts that way.
• 8:55
  We probably saw each other a few times over the course of months, but not that
• 9:00
  that much that like, were locked up in our campaign headquarters strategizing
• 9:04
  every day.
• 9:05
  It was more sharing of mind, if you will, and really understood
• 9:09
  we had a real good compatibility.
• 9:11
  I really liked the way Mike understood things and how he articulate.
• 9:13
  So obviously I asked my managing director.
• 9:16
  He says yes, we start out together to build our cabinet and everything.
• 9:20
  But Mike was the guy that I went to all the time
• 9:23
  when I didn't know, which is often, you know, was this mean?
• 9:27
  You know, how's that all that?
• 9:29
  And he just was always there as that source of information and,
• 9:34
  you know, and our friendship grew obviously, over the last five
• 9:36
  and half years, our accomplishments, the things we've done together,
• 9:39
  the results we've had, the things we've gone through,
• 9:43
  you know, whether it was people or issues or solving the problems
• 9:46
  or all the challenges that come with this respective job.
• 9:49
  Mike has been everything I could have asked for in a managing director.
• 9:52
  So I am, as I told the team yesterday, my objective
• 9:56
  in sharing the information with them was, yeah, I want them to be sad for me
• 10:00
  because we're losing a really good player,
• 10:02
  a good guy who, has been a really valuable contributor.
• 10:05
  But I'd say the same time, I'm happy for him.
• 10:09
  This is a really you know, people have told me consistently that Mike
• 10:12
  is the best maritime lawyer in the state, and this takes him
• 10:14
  right back to a company that he used to represent in maritime law.
• 10:18
  And and actually,
• 10:19
  they're on the threshold of doing a whole incredible manufacturing of things.
• 10:23
  They were the new world of technology.
• 10:25
  And I think it's just really a great thing for him.
• 10:28
  And we had the benefit of five and a half years.
• 10:30
  So, you know, we're gonna continue to be friends.
• 10:33
  I'm happy for him.
• 10:35
  But like I said, I told the team yesterday, I want them more than anything
• 10:38
  to be confident about the road ahead and, meeting.
• 10:42
  And you were in that meeting?
• 10:44
  So, you know, I saw that the room got all of that.
• 10:47
  They were, you know, they were saddened about Mike leaving because this.
• 10:51
  I was happy for him.
• 10:53
  But I think everybody, because of the seasoning of this group
• 10:56
  and the plans that we have in place, is very confident about the road ahead.
• 10:59
  Yeah.
• 10:59
  Telling on that, if you could just share with us your confidence in Krishna
• 11:03
  stepping up as your next managing director.
• 11:05
  Well, you know, Krishna has had the benefit for four
• 11:06
  and a half of the five and a half years of being, Mike's deputy.
• 11:09
  The first year he was deputy club council.
• 11:12
  Krishna Jayaram is an exceptionally smart guy in the sense of he's not Mike.
• 11:16
  He's different. But they each have skills.
• 11:20
  Krishna has a lot of in-depth knowledge on city operations, too, and he also has
• 11:24
  a lot of credibility with our team because half of them reported to him.
• 11:28
  But he's just that kind of guy that he's just again, so knowledgeable
• 11:32
  and and, user friendly, if you will.
• 11:34
  You know, you can go to Krishna
• 11:35
  for anybody on anything, on any time, and he'll be a resource.
• 11:38
  So at this point
• 11:40
  in time, compared to when we started out five and a half years ago, it required
• 11:44
  a different kind of managing director, and Mike was perfect for that.
• 11:47
  At this point now, of course, the skill sets where
• 11:52
  we, this team, his knowledge of them, their knowledge of him,
• 11:56
  the plays we have in place, we can have a seamless transition here.
• 11:59
  I could not have any more confidence than I do in Chris.
• 12:02
  He's smart.
• 12:04
  He's a really engaging guy.
• 12:06
  I've considered him throughout the course of time
• 12:09
  that our friendship has also been strong, mean.
• 12:11
  I trust him implicitly.
• 12:12
  There's never been a time when anything has happened
• 12:15
  that I've even questioned him a little bit,
• 12:17
  because he's always that thoughtful and that thorough.
• 12:20
  He knows what he's doing.
• 12:21
  So to have somebody now versus maybe a challenge of if you all
• 12:25
  if we didn't have anybody on the bench to step up,
• 12:28
  you know, would be hard to bring in an outsider
• 12:32
  just because the group we've assembled is, you know,
• 12:35
  because you're a part of it is pretty Akamai group.
• 12:39
  And, it would take a while for somebody to show them what this stuff was
• 12:43
  and what we're in for, to get through that right now.
• 12:45
  So Mike will be with us through the end of the month.
• 12:48
  We'll get him. Aloha.
• 12:49
  And off we go.
• 12:51
  And, Krishna steps in and, you know, Ian sheuring as deputy managing director.
• 12:56
  Yeah, I know, and so Ian has come a long way
• 13:00
  since, I think it was about 16 years ago.
• 13:04
  We brought a book way back when at Hawaii News Now,
• 13:07
  and I've watched Ian evolve and mature over the years.
• 13:11
  And honestly, he's a young man who, in my time both at Hawaii News Now
• 13:16
  and since he joined the city, which has been for years,
• 13:19
  no matter what we've thrown at him, he always does it and does it well.
• 13:23
  He's, he's he's absolutely brilliant.
• 13:25
  I didn't know, though, until this happened because Krishna came to me and he
• 13:31
  picked Ian.
• 13:32
  I didn't know that he and Krishna had formed such a good working relationship
• 13:35
  that because I'm not down by the end of the building
• 13:37
  and I don't see who's in each other's office, or if they go out and socialize.
• 13:41
  Or is he and told me, you know, Krishna is forever
• 13:44
  putting articles on a desk for him to read.
• 13:46
  And and Ian is really into the details and would read this stuff.
• 13:50
  And so they had this compatibility.
• 13:52
  And so I think it's just really good.
• 13:54
  And again, it adds, it adds to the seamless transition
• 13:57
  and the efficiency, of how we operate might being done out of expediency.
• 14:02
  Both of these men are highly qualified,
• 14:04
  and I'm excited for it because he's about to become a dad.
• 14:08
  Now he's got a new job.
• 14:09
  Huge challenge is going to be
• 14:11
  very different to being the deputy director of communications.
• 14:15
  Not that that wasn't complex and had a lot going for it,
• 14:19
  but this will be a real growth opportunity for him.
• 14:21
  I know, because it'll really stretch him.
• 14:22
  Plus he’s filling Big Shoes, you stepping with Krishna was a guy
• 14:25
  that was good enough to become the managing director.
• 14:27
  So the good news about all of this is nothing's broken.
• 14:30
  We're just going to play through.
• 14:32
  And, I feel good.
• 14:34
  I feel really good
• 14:35
  that we had two men like this on the team that could step up and, take it.
• 14:40
  Take it to the finish line when we're done. Two and a half years.
• 14:43
  Yeah.
• 14:44
  Great strides have been made when it comes to cleaning up that large encampment by
• 14:47
  the Kahauiki village.
• 14:48
  Yeah, I want to get your reaction and more importantly, your reaction to the pace.
• 14:53
  Yeah, this has happened.
• 14:55
  Yeah.
• 14:55
  You know, when we first looked at, it was incredibly daunting.
• 14:58
  And it was also a challenge because we needed to have collaboration
• 15:02
  with the state because this stuff was in the water, which we don't control.
• 15:05
  And it was on the land adjacent to Kahauiki
• 15:09
  the mangroves there had been really overgrown.
• 15:12
  There was all kinds of things within it.
• 15:15
  It was it was just a lot.
• 15:16
  And there were structures and superstructures
• 15:18
  and just the dismantling of that. How would we do that?
• 15:21
  You know, and which is,
• 15:24
  you know, you can't even get at some of the stuff.
• 15:27
  Today, I think a little bit more than a month later, I saw pictures this morning,
• 15:34
  almost, I would call miraculous the change.
• 15:37
  I mean, everything has been cleaned out, cleared up.
• 15:38
  And so we have to be removing stuff right now.
• 15:42
  But what what was I think of before and after right now, if we can show it to
• 15:46
  anybody, know this is a podcast, people would be blown away at how much was done.
• 15:50
  And one of the really other benefits of the fact that we're not tolerating
• 15:54
  that anymore is that, the the people, the residents of Kahauiki
• 16:00
  are going to be helped by this because these guys
• 16:04
  were in this place before selling drugs and doing all kinds of things.
• 16:07
  And, you know,
• 16:08
  and because of the proximity, literally, they would creep into Kahauiki try to,
• 16:13
  you know, create problems for people and people.
• 16:15
  They're trying to get their lives together and stuff.
• 16:17
  It's not been good, but it was unchecked.
• 16:20
  It was kind of hard to regulate,
• 16:21
  because the police couldn't even really go in there.
• 16:24
  It was just really honestly, I wish, again, we could show everybody the
• 16:27
  before and after pictures what was there and what's not there now is tremendous.
• 16:31
  So I feel really proud of the tailing on that criminal element.
• 16:34
  The search for the next chief of police is down to three candidates.
• 16:37
  Yeah. What do you like about these candidates?
• 16:40
  The commission has narrowed it down to.
• 16:41
  And what do you hope to say while I'm about to meet two of them tomorrow?
• 16:44
  That I don't know.
• 16:45
  I do know Mike Lambert.
• 16:46
  And Mike has been great to work with. He's been,
• 16:49
  you know, the sheriff's department, even knew him when he was at HPD.
• 16:51
  But in this role, he's really joined in our weekly homeless meetings.
• 16:55
  And, you know, he's a real and do guy.
• 16:58
  I think all three guys, certainly on paper, are qualified
• 17:02
  as this, they're all different from each other.
• 17:05
  I'm going to meet two of them tomorrow.
• 17:07
  Friday.
• 17:08
  And, and then Monday, I meet with Mike.
• 17:12
  I'm going to have some people in here with me.
• 17:13
  I'm not in a I'm not in a voting position.
• 17:17
  But being afforded the courtesy, finally, as mayor, to talk to somebody
• 17:22
  before they get a job and maybe at least tell somebody what I think,
• 17:25
  I don't know how that will weigh in the balance.
• 17:28
  But it
• 17:29
  the commission's done a really good job, this time around of doing all the right
• 17:34
  things to get us in a position to make a great choice.
• 17:37
  And they hired a really good consultant who was pretty thorough.
• 17:40
  And the very fact that we have two out of the last three are from the mainland.
• 17:44
  If you told me at the outset, I would not have thought that would be the case.
• 17:47
  So, it makes for an interesting dynamic.
• 17:51
  Both Abner and Liz are, bring big resumes.
• 17:54
  All three men are qualified for the job.
• 17:57
  I it's going to be a question of from the standpoint suitability.
• 18:01
  Who would fits in the the best, if you will.
• 18:03
  Who projects if you will.
• 18:05
  There as a leader the kind of leader we need
• 18:09
  at this moment again not having met them I don't know yet,
• 18:14
  but I do know, that, screening the went on, the people who they beat out.
• 18:19
  These guys are pretty damn good
• 18:21
  because there was some really good people who applied
• 18:24
  where, you know, who else is pretty damn good?
• 18:26
  The, men's volleyball team.
• 18:27
  Yes, yes, yes.
• 18:29
  I don't have a national champion next to anything I own.
• 18:32
  So, no, I guess the national champion memorabilia right there.
• 18:36
  Charlie Wade dropped in here.
• 18:37
  I'm going to hopefully add to that, I think we got to do something for them
• 18:41
  right now.
• 18:41
  We have no, no plans.
• 18:43
  But, you know, I think it's amazing.
• 18:45
  This is excellence at the highest level.
• 18:48
  You know, this is because it's excellence going to be at different levels.
• 18:52
  In this particular case, it was against the best of the best.
• 18:55
  And so when you win you are the best of the best.
• 18:57
  The thing that's been amazing about it is that, and there are some tough,
• 19:02
  tough losses this year.
• 19:03
  This is not an easy road.
• 19:04
  In fact, I did watch the UCLA series where UCLA just spanked them.
• 19:08
  A three sets of.
• 19:09
  You thought
• 19:10
  another team might have broken, but they just got better from that point.
• 19:13
  And you know, they even have to face UCLA because Irvine surprised them.
• 19:17
  But even in the final, you know,
• 19:19
  the Irvine won the opening set is like nothing was going to come easy.
• 19:22
  Right.
• 19:23
  But honestly, and this is a credit to coach Wade,
• 19:27
  his assistant coaches and the players have been playing now for some time.
• 19:31
  They've created such a credibility, a probability, if you will, that
• 19:35
  they can make a run for the national title and now win it again.
• 19:38
  The fact that they've created this sort of legacy of excellence
• 19:42
  on a sport that is widely loved here in Hawaii,
• 19:46
  is is terrific that, you
• 19:48
  know, it's not like, you know, it's every other sports war.
• 19:52
  I hope we can play respectable.
• 19:54
  We'll see when we finish.
• 19:56
  Maybe we'll get to a turn or whatever.
• 19:58
  No, the attitude is here.
• 19:59
  We're the best of the best.
• 20:00
  We're playing the best of the country, and and,
• 20:04
  And we we own it, you know, and they honor it again this year.
• 20:08
  I think it's just great.
• 20:12
  And and people are thrilled. They'll be everywhere I've gone.
• 20:14
  You know, it's been amazing.
• 20:17
  People bring it up.
• 20:18
  You know, it's just shows you how success in athletics
• 20:22
  impacts everybody in the sense of pride, but especially here in Hawaii
• 20:26
  where, you know, I think we're it's such a sports minded culture.
• 20:30
  Anyway, and Hawaii's been doing progressively better.
• 20:34
  And you look at the football team last year. Right.
• 20:36
  And winning in the in the Hawaii Bowl and and actually beating Cal
• 20:40
  and the come from behind victory.
• 20:42
  The people getting it's I think it's so good for the mental health of the spirit,
• 20:47
  the spiritual aspects and of our community
• 20:50
  that people feel really good about seeing good success.
• 20:53
  And this is again, this is about excellence at the highest level.
• 20:57
  So I have nothing but supporters.
• 20:59
  Bravo, Bravo, Charlie and his team and his players especially.
• 21:03
  And also, if I could just give a shout out
• 21:05
  to the fans, the volleyball fans, intense.
• 21:09
  I mean, they, I mean, they really get into it and I
• 21:13
  and I think that, that's not only help the team, but I think it's
• 21:17
  just this great that people feel that passionate, about a team.
• 21:22
  And it's, and it's and helping to have, you know, created success.
• 21:25
  It's really all good for our community. All good.
• 21:28
  From here, this is the One Oahu podcast.
• 21:30
  So for one final thought.
• 21:31
  Wow, I don't know, I guess. So any final thoughts for me?
• 21:34
  First of all, I hope we get the pandas I've done everything I possibly can.
• 21:39
  And, and sort of coming up with names.
• 21:41
  Yeah, yeah,
• 21:41
  sure of coming up with names and say, I'll give you one a little insight.
• 21:45
  They told me they're going to have to pick a couple of smart ones.
• 21:47
  And I looked at them like, they are smart
• 21:50
  because they said because they're being raised in Chinese.
• 21:53
  But we're going to pick out the ones that we think and they can learn English too.
• 21:57
  Like I said, where are you going?
• 21:59
  I said, I never thought of that,
• 22:00
  but that's real, you know, and and this and I said, you could really tell.
• 22:04
  They said, yeah, you could tell. They're really smart. Was from the.
• 22:07
  Yeah, that's the way they go about this.
• 22:08
  So I just like so I've just I think it'll be so good for us to have that drawl
• 22:13
  and our kids to be able to come and see and, and the field trips and stuff.
• 22:17
  And I actually think it'll be a huge tourist
• 22:19
  attraction, will be good for the zoo.
• 22:20
  And because the zoo is really getting better and better by the by the month,
• 22:25
  if you will. I'm excited about that.
• 22:27
  So let's just all have a collective hope and a prayer here that, somehow
• 22:32
  we got through in the goodwill front, and they're going to say, okay,
• 22:35
  you guys get your act together, do what you need to do,
• 22:38
  check off all the things on the list.
• 22:39
  They tell us we got to check off, and we'll have two pandas coming here.
• 22:43
  Mary, thank you for your time.
• 22:45
  You're welcome. Thank you. Brandy.
• 22:46
  And don't forget, if you have a question for the mayor,
• 22:48
  you can always email me or drop into our DMs on social media.
• 22:52
  Mahalo for listening.
• 22:53
  And until next time, Aloha.