Retired dentist Joseph Young, 79, calls crime the No. 1 issue in his 'Aina Haina neighborhood. Young, a member of the Kuli'ou'ou-Kalani Iki Neighborhood Board, said area residents have been able to relax a little since police raided a suspected drug house in the neighborhood earlier this year.

But Young, who has lived in 'Aina Haina for some four decades, said neighbors are still worried about burglaries, vehicular break-ins and other property crimes that have plagued the area in recent years.

Attorney Richard Turbin, vice chairman of the Wai'alae-Kahala Neighborhood Board, said protection of public access to Kahala Beach and the need to stop new development were the main issues facing his area.

"We're looking for real leadership, not just this taking-the-easy-way-out philosophy," Turbin said.

Berg and Leong both count crime and education as their main priorities.

Berg, who spent 15 years in the Department of Education, said she supports the initiatives of the Reinventing Education Act approved by the Legislature last year that included more training for administrators and teachers.

"Let's let it unfold," Berg said.

The bill also establishes lower class sizes at lower grades, provides for more math textbooks and establishes a pilot project at 15 schools at which a new weighted student spending formula will be implemented.

Key issues related

Not enough is being done in the schools to keep students engaged and discourage them from unhealthy habits such as drug use, she said. Berg wants students to take a more active role in the decision-making regarding programs at their campuses "so that they have some sense of meaning, engagement and relevancy."

She said schools need to get back to basics to steer students away from crime and drugs.

"It's the civic mission of schools to prepare young people to be gainfully employed, to be contributing citizens, to be enthusiastic community members," she said.

While she has no specific plan for achieving that goal, Berg said, she will work with educators to make it happen.

Stronger laws sought

Leong stressed the need for stronger laws to deter crime. She said she favors allowing law enforcement authorities more freedom to use "walk-and-talk" procedures and wiretapping laws when investigating suspected criminals.

Republican Gov. Linda Lingle failed to push such initiatives through the Democratic-led Legislature last session but is expected to try again next year.

"I want to make sure that we strengthen our laws," Leong said. "I think if (people) do a crime, there should be stronger laws, they should be put in jail."

Leong said she also would push legislation that would create stiffer penalties for those guilty of drug-related crimes that occur in the presence of or near schoolchildren.

An elementary school teacher for 26 years, Leong said she wants to ensure facilities in the district are properly maintained and that all classrooms are air-conditioned.

Although she voted against the Reinventing Education Act, Leong said, "we should do our very best to see if we can move it through, because our purpose is to make schools better."

She added: "I think we should do our best to help it along because it's already been passed. We can't work against it because we didn't favor it."

Both candidates also feel the environment is a priority issue.

Leong said she wants to put more money into battling invasive species that threaten native plants and watershed areas. Berg said she wants the state to use its natural resources "to create new businesses that would actually give back to the environment."