Rivals compete for Ewa Beach Senate seat

Matt LoPresti and Kurt Fevella are old Ewa Beach political adversaries whose rivalry is so intense that they have, at different times, called the police on one another.

Now, the two are facing off for the right to replace state Sen. Will Espero, who gave up his long-time state Senate 19th District (Ewa, Ewa Beach) seat to run for lieutenant governor.

LoPresti, 44, is the Democratic state representative for Ewa, Ewa Beach, Ewa Villages, Ewa Gentry and Ocean Pointe since 2014, while Fevella, a 51-year-old Republican, is a longtime Ewa Neighborhood Board member, community volunteer and veteran candidate for higher office.

LoPresti, who has a Ph. D. and who has been teaching philosophy at the university level since 1999, said he plans to continue fighting to get additional funding for Ewa Beach schools, including to improve the aging athletic fields at James Campbell High School.

While LoPresti has already worked to help bring air conditioning and additional capacity to the local schools, he said he’d like to focus some attention on what’s happening inside the classroom, too.

“How can you do 21st century science if there are not 21st century science resources in the classroom?” he said.

He said he will also champion support for veterans, protections against elder abuse and an ethical and transparent government.

A custodian at Ewa Makai Middle School, Fevella vowed to work to upgrade the aging infrastructure across the Campbell High School complex. He said he would also seek to create more park facilities in the community, including a recreation center and swimming pool.

“There’s no place to go besides the beach,” he said.

Fevella, who has run unsuccessfully for the state Legislature four times, including this Senate seat four years ago, said he plans to give a voice back to the people by seeking more input and holding town-hall meetings.

“I don’t give up,” he said. “I truly care about the community. If people like me as a volunteer, they’re going to really like me as a senator.”

The rivalry between the two men goes back to when they served together on the Ewa Neighborhood Board. Fevella said he called the police after he felt threatened by LoPresti following a particularly contentious board meeting. LoPresti said he called the police on Fevella and 2016 Republican state representative challenger Bryan Jeremiah, claiming the two assaulted him on the campaign trail.

Charges were eventually dropped.

LoPresti, meanwhile, was embarrassed in August by video footage showing him stealing another candidate’s election material late in the latest primary. He won the election anyway.

“Nobody is more disappointed in what happened than I am,” LoPresti said. “I am a flawed human being, and I’m disappointed in myself. But we grow from our mistakes. I have a record of accomplishments that speak much louder than a bad afternoon.”