Two familiar names are headed back to the Honolulu City Council: incumbent Todd Apo and former City Councilman Duke Bainum, who ran unopposed but drew a high number of "blank" votes.

Apo represents Council District 1, which includes Wai'anae and 'Ewa, and faced a challenge from longtime 'Ewa Neighborhood Board member Garry Smith.

A majority of returns showed Apo, 41, well ahead of Smith, 56. Apo lives in Kapolei, while Smith, a retired Navy commander, lives in 'Ewa Beach.

Apo has been on the Council since 2004. He is an attorney and vice president of corporate operations for Ko Olina Community Association.

Apo has been a strong supporter of rail for his Leeward district, where traffic is a huge concern. He said he was pleased that the support for the measure was by "a healthy margin."

And now that voters have weighed in, Apo said it's time "we stop fighting about whether it gets done or not and instead make sure it's done right."

Bainum, who served on the City Council from 1994 to 2002, had left the Council to wage an unsuccessful mayoral battle against Mufi Hannemann four years ago.

When City Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi pulled out of her Council race to challenge Hannemann this year, she left a seat open. Bainum rented a home in the district and filed for office. Former state Rep. Kirk Caldwell tried to do the same but failed to get enough signatures on his filing papers and was forced to pull out, leaving Bainum unopposed. That irked some voters so much that they began an organized push to vote "blank" against Bainum.

The "blank" effort tallied more than 42 percent after three rounds of results were released.

Council District 5 includes Makiki, Manoa and Kapahulu. Bainum, 56, is a physician and CEO of Diamond Bank, a family business. He said the rail question gave voters a chance to decide. Now, "we've got to worry about the details," he said.

"I've always been for mass transit," Bainum said. "We have a clear path to follow."