Incumbents in the state Legislature enjoyed votes of confidence in Saturday's primary elections, led by Rep. Mele Carroll, who was unopposed for re-election in House District 13 (East Maui, Lanai, Molokai, Kalaupapa, Kahoolawe).
Rep. Joe Souki had no opposition from other parties and brushed back Democratic challenger Tasha Kama, so he too is re-elected, without having to be on the ballot in November. He has represented District 8 (Kahakuloa, Wailuku, Waikapu) since 1982.
All of Maui County's legislators in Honolulu are Democrats.
Sen. Roz Baker in District 5 (West, South Maui) beat party challenger Bart Mulvihill, a self-described "complete political unknown," and advanced to face Republican Jan Shields in November.
Sen. J. Kalani English was not opposed in the primary and will face Independent John Blumer-Buell in District 6 (East Maui, Lanai, Molokai, Kahoolawe).
Reps. Bob Nakasone and Angus McKelvey did not face primary challengers. Reps. Kyle Yamashita and Joe Bertram defeated intraparty challengers to advance to the general election.
All Maui County incumbents chose to seek re-election, although Sen. Shan Tsutsui is midway through a four-year term.
Nakasone will face Republican Henry Kahula in District 9 (Kahului, Lower Paia). McKelvey will face Republican Ramon K. Madden in District 10 (West Maui, North Kihei).
Yamashita beat Summer Starr in the primary and will face Republican Mickey Vierra in District 12 (Upcountry). Bertram beat Michael Gingerich and will face Republican George R. Fontaine in District 11 (South Maui).
In the upcoming 5th Senate District race, health care can be expected to be a foremost issue as Baker takes on first-time GOP candidate Shields, a nurse who has fiercely criticized the incumbent for not doing enough to support new medical facilities in South and West Maui.
Baker, a veteran lawmaker with 16 years of experience, has emphasized that her position as the chairwoman of the Senate's Ways and Means Committee has meant hundreds of millions of dollars in capital improvement project appropriations for all of Maui County.
She said a freshman senator, whether it be Mulvihill or Shields, would not be able to effectively deliver capital improvement project funding or meaningful legislation.
"In the kind of time we're in, you want someone with experience," Baker said via cellular phone Saturday night.
Mulvihill expressed disappointment at the results but was proud of what he had accomplished in just two months of campaigning.
He said he believed the votes he received showed a "substantial portion of Democrats are clearly not happy with Roz or they embraced my views."
Even though Shields ran unopposed in the 5th District primary, the former Maui Memorial Medical Center nurse said she walked door to door to appeal for votes in both Kihei and Lahaina.
"People need to get to know me. I don't want to pop out of the woodwork," Shields said Saturday night.
Founder of the Association for Improved Healthcare on Maui, Shields was driven to run for office after unsuccessfully lobbying for a private hospital in Kihei in 2007.
She said she's continuing to push for a new medical facility in Kihei and another in Lahaina, but she's not a single-issue candidate.
"I'm actually very interested in schools," she said.
Baker said she wants to return to the Legislature to continue her work in advocating for her district and the County of Maui and to address other issues such as energy, traffic, education and health.
Bertram, just finishing his first term in House District 11, said the foremost issues will be the economy and self-help, since the state, facing a budget shortfall of up to $900 million, won't be funding anybody's pet projects.
During candidate forums, he said, he and his challengers "were like three peas in a pod, we all said government has got to get out of the way, it is too centralized, too oppressive, too many regulations and rules."
His challenger, Fontaine, said he sees it a bit differently. Yes, the economy will be a main issue, but his approach will be dissimilar to Bertram's. Fontaine, a small-business owner, said he will push for support for small businesses, something he said Bertram didn't do much in his term.
Gingerich said he was gratified by the response to his campaign.
"I met a whole lot of people, and they will take up my ideas with energy." And he said he will remain involved in community work.
For both Gingerich and Fontaine, this was a first attempt at public office. In the 2006 elections, no Republicans won Maui legislative seats, although South Maui has elected a Republican, Chris Halford, in the past.
Fontaine said, however, that he does not think party affiliation will mean that much in District 11.
"This is a race that will turn on who is best qualified for the job," Fontaine said.
He said that, because of his background as a business owner and retired police captain, he feels he can work well with whoever is elected "across the aisle."
Bertram said: "New people are always very excited and feel you can do things. . . . Reality steps in, and you realize you have to work with 75 other people."
He cited one example: Some people told him they want to him to establish independent school districts. The governor, he noted, couldn't get that through, either.
He said it is time for South Maui "to go back to the old style." The economy is forcing such a turn anyway, "and that's good. We kind of worked up from a Madison Avenue prospect that we were rich. The rich people were getting richer; we were getting into debt."
It is time, Bertram said, for Maui and South Maui to aim at "self-sufficiency."
In the Upcountry District 12 contest, Rep. Yamashita said political newcomer Starr was a "formidable challenger."
"We ran not the same kind of race, (but) we ran a race of not taking it lightly," he said.
Starr trailed after the second set of vote tallies at the Akaku studios in Kahului, but she was not ready to concede. But she said she could accept defeat if that was the will of voters.
"If Upcountry isn't quite ready to have a change in representation, then that's their prerogative," she said.
She said she wanted to win, not for herself but for the district.
"I was born and raised in that district. I know it like the back of my hand. I love it with all my heart," she said.
Starr pledged to continue her community service.
"I wish all the best to Kyle and his family, on a personal level," she said. "I really appreciate he's run a clean campaign."
Vierra, who will face Yamashita, also hung out at the Akaku studios early Saturday evening.
He said younger voters usually are more open to change, and he hoped more would come out for the general election.
Earlier in the evening, Starr was making her rounds at the Maui Community College studios and remained upbeat after hearing the early first results.
"We've run a really hard, clean, upbeat grass-roots campaign," she said.
* Harry Eagar can be reached at heagar@mauinews.com. Claudine San Nicolas can be reached at claudine@maui news.com. Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@maui news.com.
