WHY ARE YOU RUNNING FOR CONGRESS, AND WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO OFFER THAT SETS YOU APART FROM THE OTHER CANDIDATES?

I'm running for Congress to continue my work on behalf of all of Hawai'i, and our country in Washington, D.C.

What sets me apart from my opponents are three basic ideas. First of all, I do have now seven years of seniority and experience in Washington, D.C., prior service as well as working for Sen. (Spark) Matsunaga.

Second, I believe that fundamentally we need to change the dynamics of politics in this country and find a better way forward for our country.

And finally I think we need to change the political culture of Hawai'i, and my candidacy stands for that as well.

WHAT SPECIFIC EXPERIENCE MOST PREPARED YOU FOR CONGRESSIONAL OFFICE?

Clearly, serving in Congress best prepared me for congressional office. I had four-plus years in the U.S. Congress, from 2002 to 2007, and there's nothing like doing a job to know how to do a job. I also had three years prior to that in Washington, D.C., with Sen. Spark Matsunaga. That definitely prepared me as well.

WHAT IS YOUR PROUDEST ACCOMPLISHMENT OF YOUR POLITICAL CAREER?

The single accomplishment that I'm the most proud of is the creation of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. I was deeply involved in the creation of that monument, the largest, most extensive, most pristine marine monument in the world. And that was a situation where I completely applied all of my contacts, my talents, my beliefs behind the scenes to try to accomplish that. And that was designated when President Bush signed that designation.

HEALTH CARE REFORM HAS BEEN THE DEFINING ISSUE IN WASHINGTON. WHAT NEXT STEP DO YOU WANT TO SEE TAKEN ON REFORM?

We've got unfinished business on the cost-control side, primarily. That bill, that law does not really rein in costs as we need to do. So what's required there is, number one, tort reform, which was a missing piece of the bill. We do need to take the abuses out of the litigation system, which are driving up the cost of ... the doctors in particular, the medical professionals. We've got to get that done. We also need to increase competition within the health care insurance and delivery system. That was not adequately taken care of in the bill, to allow and foster competition, across state lines. Those are the two principle issues in the cost-control area.

WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF POSITIONED IN THE EXTREMELY RANCOROUS PARTISAN LANDSCAPE OF CAPITOL HILL?

I've always been a moderate, I've always been an independent. I have always believed the people came first, not the party. And I have had no problems in voting against my party, where I thought my party was wrong. And I have always believed that where the partisan extremes come into play, that the mainstream of the people needs to be the defining voice in our government. So as a practical matter, I fit into that great mainstream middle of our country, and did in my past service and do again want in hopefully future service to try to find the pragmatic, middle-of the-road, inclusive solutions for our country. And I believe that we need to grow that critical mass in Congress. We don't need to add to the problem by sending somebody to Washington that's going to live in a really partisan atmosphere or live in a philosophical extreme. And I think that's very much a distinguishing factor in this race.