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Seven uncontested seats
mark Big Island primary

Primary Election 2000

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By Rod Thompson
Star-Bulletin

HILO -- Big Island voters will experience a rarity in the primary election: the first contested race for Hawaii County prosecutor since 1992.

For County Council seats, they'll see the opposite: few contested races.

Two Democrats are running for prosecutor, incumbent Jay Kimura and former Deputy Prosecutor Brenda Carreira.

Carreira says there is too much delay in trying cases. The lengthy time needed to bring to trial the Dana Ireland murder suspects is well known, but Carreira says delays in routine cases are also common.

Kimura responds, "The office is efficiently run." He believes his administration has brought more cases to trial than his predecessors, although he has no statistics.

A lingering question is Kimura's supervision of a former deputy who used ambiguous state laws to try two men for possessing federally approved sterile hemp seeds.

The deputy admitted to a Hilo judge that she prosecuted the men because they were marijuana advocates.

Kimura denies that the seeds were sterile. A state Department of Agriculture report said none of the seeds germinated.

The Council seat for lower Puna offers a race crowded with six candidates.

Incumbent Democrat Al Smith is often criticized for being too closely aligned with Hilo-based powers. He responds that the alliance brings money to the district. Critics say it's not enough.

One of his Democratic opponents, businessman Gary Safarik, says the district needs more water, roads, police, firefighters, buses and agricultural infrastructure.

The race includes Democratic newcomer Jeane Kubera.

Among Republicans, frequent candidate Roger Evans faces papaya farmer Michael Durkan, a critic of established papaya growing and marketing procedures. The winners will face each other and Green Party candidate Steven Hirakami.

The only other contested Council primary race is in the sprawling upper Puna-Kau-South Kona district. Former Republican councilman John Santangelo, trying for a comeback, is opposed by political newcomer Russell Kemp.

The winner will face incumbent Julie Jacobson, the only elected Green in the state.

Four of the nine incumbent Council members face no opposition until the general election. Three have no opponents at all.