EDITORIAL
Advertiser endorses in state Senate races
Elections for the state Legislature this year offer a bewildering variety of choices and options. Some races are strongly contested, others offer no choice other than the incumbent.
In choosing whom to select, voters must balance both the needs of their own district and the needs of the state. The best candidates will be those who show a strong interest in their own district's problems but will also have skills or interests that can contribute to the larger work of the Legislature and the interests of the state as a whole.
The Advertiser sought to apply this test in the following endorsements for state Senate races. We made endorsements only in those races where the primary election will either settle things outright or where there is a contested party primary.
In a handful of cases, the information we had did not lead to a strong recommendation for an endorsement.
Our endorsements in the State Senate for the 2002 Primary Election:
1st District: Hamakua, S. Hilo
Democratic
In a race between two incumbents forced to compete by redistricting, The Advertiser endorses the candidate who knows her district well and has shown an ability to work with her colleagues: Lorraine Inouye.
4th District: Kahului
Democratic
Jan Buen, a solid incumbent, deserves re-election to continue work on bringing state-funded long-term-care insurance to the elderly and disabled.
5th District: W. & S. Maui
Republican
No endorsement.
7th District: Kaua'i, Ni'ihau
Democratic
Incumbent Jonathan Chun showed courage — and incurred the wrath of unions — in voting for needed controls on public employee unions.
11th District: Makiki, Pawa'a
Republican
First-time candidate Jake Wurthner is seeking election to help improve the business climate and, out of his concern for families, to decentralize the public school system.
12th District: Waikiki, Ala Moana, Downtown
Democratic
In a crowded primary race, The Advertiser endorses Pat McCain, a long-time aide to U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, now a member of the Downtown Neighborhood Board.
Republican
A first-time candidate in this three-way primary, Gordon Trimble, an economist and asset manager for a private foundation, deserves a wider platform for his intriguing idea for interisland vehicular ferries.
19th District: Kapolei, Makakilo, Waikele
Democratic
Incumbent Brian Kanno has done a solid job of chairing the Senate Judiciary Committee and deserves to go forward to the general election.
20th District: 'Ewa Beach, Waipahu
Democratic
For his work on 'Ewa traffic and schools and Kapolei expansion, Willie Espero should be re-elected.
23rd District: Kane'ohe, Kahuku
Democratic
As a thoughtful, conscientious and sometimes lonely voice, the Senate is a better place for the presence of Bob Nakata. Voters should advance him to the general election.
24th District: Kailua, Kane'ohe
Democratic
No endorsement.
Tomorrow: Our endorsements for the state House of Representatives.
Correction: Willie Espero, a Democratic candidate in the 20th Senate District is not an incumbent in that race. He is a state representative for the 41st House District. A previous version of this editorial contained incorrect information.
