State Rep. Roy Takumi has spent the past 10 years in the state House, but he does not consider himself as the incumbent to beat in the Pearl City-Pacific Palisades-Manana race in next week's primary election. District 36 features
2 veteran legislators3 Democrats battle to face an
unopposed Republican candidateBy Pat Omandam
pomandam@starbulletin.comBecause of last year's realignment of political districts, Takumi, 49, finds he must campaign in the stronghold of fellow Democratic state Rep. Nobu Yonamine, a 13-year legislator.
"It's an uphill battle for me because a majority of the district, needless to say, the majority of the new district is his old district," Takumi said. "It's as if I'm running against the incumbent."
Takumi, Yonamine, 67, along with Charles Aono, 54, square off next Saturday for the Democratic nomination. The winner faces Republican Chris Prendergast, 49, who is unopposed in the primary election.
Takumi, who is a communications specialist for the Hawaii State AFL-CIO, said his biggest problem is that voters in House District 36 do not really know him or what he has done in the state Legislature.
All he can do, he said, is to show them his legislative record as an independent lawmaker who was one the leading advocates to address the high cost of prescription drugs this past session.
If re-elected, one of the new ideas Takumi said he would like to pursue is the concept of a public/private after-school program for children in middle school. He described it as a place to give these teenagers a place to study, take additional lessons or work on community projects.
Yonamine was first appointed to the state House in 1989 by then-Gov. John Waihee. A social worker by training, he is the former executive director of the Susannah Wesley Community Center and the Atherton YMCA.
Yonamine has a long history of working on human services issues. Two years ago, he served as majority floor leader.
Voters, however, may remember him for his drunken-driving arrest in February 2001. Immediately after the incident, Yonamine said he would resign, but changed his mind after constituents in his district urged him to stay on and to seek counseling.
Yonamine said he is stressing his legislative record and community involvement to voters in this campaign. He wants people to decide whether he has been responsible, conscientious and fair in his representation of the district over the years.
"The people have to decide whether I have done a good job for them," he said.
Aono, who serves on the Pearl City Community Association Board, worked for the past two decades in pharmaceutical sales and as a surgical instrument service provider. He now works for the GE Long Term Care Division.
Aono said he is against deficit spending and wants a smaller, more efficient government that will be pro-business. He believes the state can restore and save its beautiful environment through management of ocean resources, recycling and the reduction of the state's dependency on oil.
Prendergast is a real estate agent who is active in the Pacific Palisades Community Association and other community and business groups. He said there exists a "lopsided" Legislature that is controlled by one political party, and he would like to restore balance and accountability to state government.
"I just want to be part of the process that brings the community back into the decision-making process," he said.
Among the things that troubled him in recent years are the opening of a controversial state juvenile sex-offender facility in Pearl City and the implementation of the now-defunct traffic photo enforcement program. Both were implemented by state officials with little community input, he said.
Prendergast acknowledges it will be difficult to win in a historically Democratic district, but he believes voters have reached a point where results count, no matter what political party you are from.
"There comes a time when our causes have to be greater than our affiliations," he said.
Here is a snapshot of state House District 36 (Pearl City-Momilani-Pacific Palisades-Manana), based on Census 2000: House District 36 at a glance
Total population:
22,347 (50 percent male, 50 percent female)
Major ethnic populations:
Japanese: 33 percent
People w/ 2 or more races: 22 percent
Filipino: 13 percent
White: 11 percent
Native Hawaiian: 5 percent
Chinese: 4 percent
Samoan: 2 percent
