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THE HOT LEGISLATIVE RACES
Two Republican candidates are making their first bid for electoral office on Maui against veteran state Democratic Rep. Robert Nakasone and former House Speaker Joseph Souki. Maui’s Souki,
Nakasone face
GOP newcomersPatricia Peterson, 58, an interior designer who seeks to unseat Souki, said she's running to give Maui voters a choice.
The 8th District covers a wide range of voters, from the wealthy in Kapalua to Hawaiian homesteaders in Paukukalo.
Peterson said she wants to decentralize state government by converting the state school board into county school boards and consolidating highway maintenance currently done by the state and counties.
She'd like to eliminate the 4 percent general excise tax on food, medical services and rent.
"It would help the seniors. It would help the families," she said.
She's opposed to abortions, unless a woman's life is in jeopardy.
Souki, 65, who has been a Democratic legislator for 18 years, is "pro-choice," allowing a woman to choose whether or not to have an abortion.
Souki said his support of a failed general excise tax increase proposal two years ago is misunderstood because it would have decreased personal income tax by a greater amount.
He points out he helped reduce taxes by two billion dollars in five years through eliminating the intermediary tax on services and lowering the personal income tax table by 25 percent.
"This is a real plus. It's providing impetus to the recovery," he said.
Souki said he also supported the passage of a new law that gave a number of tax credits and breaks to start-up high-technology companies in Hawaii, including an employee exemption from paying capital gains on stock options.
John Henry, 41, whose photography company has been rated as one of the fastest-growing enterprises in Hawaii, said he decided to run against 9th District Rep. Nakasone because of a number of "strong moral issues" facing the public.
Henry is against abortion unless the woman's life is at risk.
He's in favor of reducing the size of government and putting out to bid some government services, such as road maintenance and trash pickup.
He's for a voucher system that allows parents to have a choice of where they send their children and to subsidize tuition at private or public schools with state funds.
Nakasone, 60, a four-term House member, is "pro-choice" on abortions.
He said he supports going through a "managed process" that will allows unions to compete with private companies on government service contracts that are sent out for bids.
Nakasone said he's against a voucher system because it doesn't solve the problem in public schools.
Nakasone said if re-elected, he plans to continue to work on finding a way to finance long-term medical care for people who need to live in an institution 24 hours a day.
He said one of his ideas is to give a personal income tax deduction for medical care payments made by contributing family members.
Both Nakasone and Souki said that they helped to bring more than $200 million in capital-improvement projects to Maui in the latest biennium budget.
Gary T. Kubota, Star-Bulletin
Patricia Peterson (R) HOUSE DISTRICT 8
Maalaea, Waiehu, Waihee, Honolua, Kapalua, Wailuku
Occupation: President, Patty Peterson Interiors & Co.; manager of Kahului gift store/book shop
Background: County salary commissioner; president, Maui League of Republican WomenJoseph Souki (D)
Occupation: Legislator; owner, Joseph Souki M. Realty
Background: House speaker, 1993-99; former executive. director, Maui Economic Opportunity; led campaign for lifeline phone rates for poor
John Henry (R) HOUSE DISTRICT 9
Kahului, Wailuku, Waikapu
Occupation: President, John Henry Photography Inc.
Background: President of Waiolani Community Assn., Adult Sunday school teacher, Grace Baptist Church in LahainaRobert Nakasone (D)
Occupation: Legislator; owner, Ameritone Maui
Background: Maui County Council chairman; member, Maui Contractors Association and National Federal of Independent Businesses
Starbulletin.com Election Results
State Office of Elections
WAILUKU -- Education tops the list of priorities for all three candidates running for an open seat in the state House 10th District (Puunene-Paia-Upcountry Maui). 10th District
candidates split
on educationThey include businessman Kika Bukoski, 35, a Republican; former legislative analyst J.J. Vroom, 34, a Democrat; and recent college graduate Malia Gibson, 25, Aloha Aina.
For Bukoski and Gibson the race is their first bid for elected office on Maui.
Vroom lost in a race in 1998 for the Maui Council seat in Kahului.
The three candidates agree that the state education system needs improvement, but they differ on some key issues.
Bukoski wants to to take a look at developing county school boards and also a voucher system where parents can receive state funds to choose the private or public school for their child.
Bukoski said the student-teacher ratio of 27-1 is OK, but the way it's calculated is wrong and allows for too much deviation.
Vroom, 34, endorsed by outgoing 10th District Rep. David Morihara, said the community needs more control of the schools but he favors the continuation of a statewide school system because it tends to allocate resources "fairly" and doesn't foster inequities between poor and rich districts.
Vroom said he'd rather see tax incentives for people who send their children to private schools because he's afraid a voucher system would take resources away from public schools.
He wants to start working toward reducing the classroom student-teacher ratio to 18-1.
Gibson said she's not inclined to support a voucher system and wants to see more emphasis on improving the public schools.
She believes the current student-teacher ratio of 27-1 should be reduced to give students more individual attention.
Gibson said she sees a lack of leadership on Maui that has allowed massive urban developments. She wants to protect the environment and natural resources.
Gary T. Kubota, Star-Bulletin
Kika Bukoski (R) HOUSE DISTRICT 10
Puunene, Paia, Upcountry Maui
Occupation: Partner in Horizon Waste Services, parent firm of Maui Disposal
Background: Appointee, Maui County Board of Ethics; board member, Big Brothers Big SistersMalia Gibson (Aloha Aina)
Occupation: Recent UH graduate, with master's degree in political science
Background: President, Kalai Po, native Hawaiian student union; vice president, graduate student organizationJ.J. Vroom (D)
Occupation: Former executive asst. to executive director, Maui Economic Opportunity, Inc.; former aide to state Sen. Joseph Tanaka
Background: Basketball player, UH-Hilo; business administration degree
Starbulletin.com Election Results
State Office of Elections
