MEDIA RELEASE

Democrat Mufi Hannemann has earned the first major business endorsement in Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional District race when the National Association of Realtors announced its support for his candidacy.

The endorsement was announced by RPAC, the political arm of the National Association of Realtors, following the unanimous recommendation and endorsement from the Hawaii Association of Realtors RPAC Trustees.

Hawaii Association of Realtors’ Director of Government Affairs Myoung Oh cited Hannemann’s support for housing, including his mayoral leadership in having the City and County of Honolulu invest in public safety, parks, public facilities, and road and sewer infrastructure that underpin the quality of life in Hawaii; his support for the expansion of housing in West Oahu and other parts of the island; the City’s management of its affordable housing inventory; and his role in championing transit-oriented development.

“Mufi Hannemann has been a strong leader for realtors and homeowners. He has demonstrated that affordable housing is a goal that can be realized through public-private partnerships and that the federal government can do more in this arena. For instance, Congress could create incentives for building affordable housing both in the rental market as well as in home ownership. There are many ways to approach this problem and we feel his experience and success in bringing together the public and private sectors will be beneficial in addressing the housing affordability issue in Hawaii,” Oh said.

Hannemann said, “I’m delighted to earn the endorsement of the realtors. Home ownership, affordable housing, and finding creative ways of fulfilling the housing dreams of future generations of residents are goals we share because they go to the very core of our quality of life. I’m very grateful to the membership and excited about working with the realtors in involving the private sector and business in finding solutions to our housing concerns.”

The National Association of Realtors was founded in 1908 and is America’s largest trade association with approximately 1.1 million members, including NAR’s five commercial real estate institutes and its societies and councils.

Realtors are involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries and belong to one or more of some 1,400 local associations or boards, and 54 state and territory associations of realtors.