On Oahu, 14 state House seats have contested races on the Nov. 6 general election ballot. Here’s the second in a three-part listing of the Star-Advertiser’s endorsements; today’s races cover the Kalihi area, up into Mililani and west to Ewa.
>> District 30 (Sand Island-Kalihi-Airport): Vying for this seat are incumbent Romy Cachola, a longtime legislator and former City Councilman, and Republican Mar Velasco, who has not held elected office. Cachola ranks addressing flood-related concerns as a priority for the district. Velasco was unresponsive to requests for platform issues.
Voters in the district face a tough choice between a barely visible candidate, and one whose campaigning tactics have raised red flags twice in six years. In both instances, Cachola has been accused of effectively trying to rig elections. In the most recent one, after the Aug. 11 primary election, a group of unidentified voters filed a lawsuit asking the state Supreme Court to overturn Cachola’s narrow victory, alleging election fraud and vote tampering. The court dismissed the suit, saying it wasn’t the right venue for adjudication. However, justices made clear that the matter warrants further investigation by appropriate state and federal authorities.
>> District 36 (Mililani-Mililani Mauka-Waipio Acres): A seasoned former state lawmaker with deep roots in community engagement, Democrat Marilyn Lee, gets the endorsement over enthusiastic first-time GOP candidate, Val Okimoto, for this open seat.
Both candidates point to traffic congestion and high-cost-of-living struggles as top challenges in the district. But Lee, who served in the state House for a 16-year stretch, 1996-2012, is eager to return to the state Capitol and has the edge in that she is thoroughly acquainted with the workings of the Legislature. Still active in civic events, she can be counted on to be attentive to constituents and a stickler for legislative procedure.
Okimoto, who has lived in Mililani for 15 years and is a member of the Mililani Town Association’s board of directors, said in a written statement that her bid for elected office is fueled in part by frustration with a “one-party rule” system, which is “stifling of ideas, transparency and accountability.”
>> District 37 (Mililani-Waipio-Waikele): Ryan Yamane, who has served in the state House since 2005, gets our nod over the Republican challenger for his ongoing leadership efforts. Yamane, who now serves as chairman for the Committee of Water and Land, has previously headed tourism and culture, health, and transportation committees.
Although a first-time candidate, Mary Smart, a longtime Mililani resident and a member of neighborhood boards, is well versed on the district’s challenges. Among the top priorities for both candidates: fixing traffic-related headaches, improving public education, and tackling high cost-of-living snags.
>> District 40 (Ewa Beach-Iroquois Point): Incumbent Bob McDermott, a Republican who is not shy about taking a stand on some worthy issues, such as advocating for school facilities upgrades, is the better choice. His opponent, Democrat Rose Martinez, has a compelling list of priorities — reducing homelessness and increasing affordable housing inventory, for instance. But a combination of McDermott’s tenure in the state House, which totals nearly 12 years now, and ability to assert a bit of GOP balance to the lopsided Legislature, gives him the edge.
>> District 41 (Ewa Villages- Ocean Pointe-Ewa Beach): Neither candidate — former Rep. Rida Cabanilla, a Democrat, or Chris Fidelibus, a Republican who has not held elected office — is a strong contender. Still, our nod goes to Fidelibus, a real estate broker and the owner of scuba-diving and sportfishing centers, who wants to see an increase in certificate and apprenticeship programs, which would allow more people to become small business owners.
Cabanilla, an Army reservist and nurse, will be trying to win back her old seat, which she lost four years ago. First elected to the state House in 2004, Cabanilla raised eyebrows in 2014 for securing a $100,000 grant-in-aid from the Legislature on behalf of a nonprofit without publicly disclosing her status as a member of its board of directors.
