Many of the rural Puna subdivisions have no water lines, and rush-hour traffic backs up on the Kea'au-to-Pahoa highway as commuters drive to and from jobs in Hilo or more distant places.

Ginny Aste, a retiree and community organizer, said Puna voters want answers to the area's drug problem. They also want want jobs closer to home and a public transportation system.

"There are so many barriers to creating businesses in Puna; many, many barriers," she said.

State Rep. Helene Hale is facing a challenge in the Democratic primary from Puna farmer Gerard Silva, with the winner advancing to a potentially difficult general election contest with Republican Brian Jordan. In 2002, Jordan captured 45 percent of the vote compared with Hale's 55 percent.

Also running is Dennis Triglia, the only Libertarian seeking state office this year. No Libertarian has ever been elected to the Legislature.

Hale is a longtime figure in Big Island politics, serving as a member of the county Board of Supervisors from 1955 to 1963, and as chairman from 1963 to 1965. That position was the county chief executive officer before the office of mayor was created. She later served eight years on the County Council, and is now seeking her third consecutive House term representing Puna.

Hale's son suffered from schizophrenia and died of heart failure earlier this year. She said she is committed to reforming the state's system of mental healthcare and wants to establish a task force to determine how to help people who are clearly mentally ill but are left to wander the streets because they won't accept medication or treatment.

Hale said she also wants to continue working to get a new gym for Pahoa School, and favors reform at the state's Child Welfare Services, formerly known as Child Protective Services.

Silva, a noni farmer who made an unsuccessful bid for a House seat in 2002, said he is running again because "I don't think the job's being done; we're falling behind out here."

He said he will push for state financing for an alternative to Highway 130, the only highway in and out of the Pahoa area; for new wells and reservoirs to expand the county water system to include Lower Puna subdivisions; and to subsidize inadequate police and firefighting services.

Getting control of the drug problem will require more rehabilitation programs and tougher sentencing for dealers, Silva said.

"They've got to get the message that they've got to stop it, and I don't know if these guys are getting the message," he said.

On the Republican side, Jordan said he was moved to run for office by his experiences as a Waiakea High School teacher. He said he's had to deal with high school students who read at a second-grade level and a Department of Education bureaucracy that won't budge.

Jordan favors creation of local school boards, instead of the single statewide board now in place.

He blamed state lawmakers for Puna's transportation problems, saying money for highway projects is being diverted for other needs.

The Libertarian in the race wants to make Hawai'i more business friendly by eliminating government regulations, lowering taxes and reducing the size of government.

Triglia said he is alarmed at what he believes is a gradual erosion of civil liberties, including a chill on free speech caused by the war on terrorism. People are increasingly discouraged from criticizing President Bush or his administration, he said.

A member of the Hawai'i Rifle Association, Triglia said Hawai'i has some of the strictest gun controls in the nation, and he believes those laws should be repealed. He also favors legalization of marijuana.