The primary election Saturday will decide some leadership questions for the next few years.
Certainly some key decisions on state Legislature candidates and County Council candidates will be made by the end of the day Saturday.
But more important, we feel, are the Democratic primaries involving the United States House of Representatives District 2 seat and the selection of the United States Senate nominee to run against former Gov. Linda Lingle in November.
We have endorsed former Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann for the House District 2 seat. His experience working in both Democrat and Republican administrations nationally, as well as his reputation for forging working compromises, will serve us well in Washington, D.C.
In the U.S. Senate race, we believe picking former Rep. Ed Case for the Democratic nomination will give voters the best selection in November. Case has indicated consistently throughout the campaign that he wants to be part of a bipartisan effort to find solutions to the big problems confronting the country.
We think Case's opponent, Rep. Mazie Hirono, is too ideologically rigid to seek the compromises that are needed to fix Washington. A Case-versus-Lingle race in November would assure Hawaii voters that their new senator is going to be a moderate who will actively work across the aisle to solve problems like massive budget deficits and Social Security and Medicare funding.
We need candidates who are committed to ending the gridlock and fixing our huge national problems.
Whether you agree or not with our recommendations, please vote Saturday.
* Editorials reflect the opinion of the publisher.
