The state House 35th District, home to about 23,400 people, is traditionally a Democratic stronghold. Residents voted for 2002 Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mazie Hirono over Republican Linda Lingle by a nearly 2-to-1 margin.

Darrlyn Bunda, executive director of the Waipahu Community Association, said public education and crime are among the top concerns in the district. She noted that Waipahu has one of the largest public school enrollments in the state.

Irene Elston, president of the Waipahu Neighborhood Improvement Association, said drugs in the district are a problem.

"We'd like to take back our neighborhood," Elston said. "It's improved, but we're nowhere near where we're trying to get. We're trying to get all the druggies out, and have a cleaner neighborhood and environment."

All three candidates have different priorities and solutions to offer voters.

Aquino said his top priorities include public safety, public education and expanding youth programs.

He said he'd like to increase programs that educate the community about problems such as drugs and underage drinking. He also supports stiffer penalties for drivers who habitually speed.

"We really need to clean up our area," Aquino said. "We do have a few nice things, but I would really want our community to look outstanding."

Aquino also said he is in favor of expanding programs that will give young people "a place to go that is safe (and) nurturing" and offers sports, tutoring and other activities. "I will keep pushing (for youth programs)," he said. "We need to find ways to bring in money and fund these things because it is important."

Aquino supports the Democrats' education reform law passed this year that gives principals more control of their school operating budgets and gives money to schools on the basis of student need rather than enrollment.

He would also like public schools to employ bilingual teachers where needed.

Sonson said the top initiatives on his list include replacing the state's 4 percent excise tax with a higher sales tax and eliminating personal income taxes. That way, he said, the state can generate more revenue from visitors while freeing residents from income taxes.

He said he also wants to encourage more agriculture and aquaculture efforts by making state money and resources more available to farmers.

"I think we have to invest in the idea that in the future we're going to have viable aquaculture or agriculture — this second economy that we can build," he said.

Sonson said he wants to ensure that lawmakers are careful in changing criminal laws, noting that he generally opposes reclassifying misdemeanor offenses as felonies with tougher penalties. But he said he wants to work with the city to increase police presence in the area.

35th district In the 2000 Census, 52.6 percent of the district's population were of Filipino descent. People of two or more races made up 14 percent; Japanese, 13 percent; and Caucasians, almost 6 percent. Residents 65 and older made up the largest adult age group, at 23 percent. Ages 50-to-64 made up 22 percent. About 18 percent were between 20 and 29. The 30-to-39 and the 40-to-49 age groups each made up 17 percent of adult population in the district.

"The idea of funding education through college is something that is worthwhile," he said.

Nuusa said his top priorities are expanding the economy, improving education and providing more tax relief to residents.

Nuusa said the state can help improve its economy by providing tax breaks or other incentives to airlines that fly visitors from Europe and Asia to Hawai'i. He also said the state should encourage more agriculture by providing startup money to farmers, and that it should take steps to attract more college students here from abroad.

Nuusa supports higher pay for public school teachers, as well as Lingle's proposal to break up the state Department of Education into local school districts with elected school boards.

"The advantage of having these regional boards (is) they can have a small district and they can concentrate on those problems there," he said.

Nuusa said he's inclined to leave other details to educators. He said that too often lawmakers "interfere with the function of schools and other departments."

He also wants to amend state tax laws to increase the personal exemption.