Incumbents carried the day Tuesday in Hawaii Island’s state House races.
Incumbents carried the day Tuesday in Hawaii Island’s state House races.
Longtime Rep. Mark Nakashima of District 1 (Hamakua, North Hilo, South Hilo) earned his fifth term in the Legislature. With all precincts reporting, he had 79.6 percent of votes cast in his race against Republican challenger Byron Young.
Speaking with the Tribune-Herald shortly after the first election printout, Nakashima said he was pleased with the results.
“Hopefully, it’s a validation of the work that we’ve been doing up until now,” he said.
Nakashima is chairman of the House Labor and Public Employment Committee and a member of the Consumer Protection and Commerce, Judiciary, Public Safety and Transportation committees.
He said he considered one of his biggest successes during his previous terms was successfully negotiating a statewide increase in the minimum wage.
While chairing the labor committee, Nakashima helped create three working groups focused on job creation in the agricultural, science and technology, and health sectors.
“I think an expansion of that into the future is something we’ll be working on,” he said.
In District 4 (Puna), with all precincts reporting, Joy San Buenaventura was elected to a second House term with 75.4 percent of the vote. Her opponents were Luana Jones and Moke Stephens.
“I want to finish what I started,” San Buenaventura said. She said she first ran for the House two years ago to help increase transportation access in Puna.
“The district has long been neglected, and I want to make sure that its needs are on the front burner,” she said.
Transportation and alternative routes in the district continue to be priorities, she said, particularly since Puna is growing by “leaps and bounds” after the lava flow scare two years ago.
San Buenaventura said she also planned to push for accessible broadband internet and improved access to medical marijuana for patients in the area, which has the most medical marijuana certificates issued of any district in the state.
“Not only that, but our schools have been neglected,” San Buenaventura said, pointing out that Pahoa Elementary School still does not have its own cafeteria.
San Buenaventura, like Nakashima, is a member of the House Consumer Protection and Commerce, Judiciary, Labor and Public Employment, Public Safety and Transportation committees.
In West Hawaii, Naalehu physician Richard Creagan secured a second term after being appointed to represent District 5 (Naalehu, Ocean View, Captain Cook, Kealakekua, Kailua-Kona) in 2014 by Gov. Neil Abercrombie. At press time, he had garnered 77.6 percent of the vote.
In District 6 (Kailua-Kona, Holualoa, Kalaoa, Honokohau), Nicole Lowen defeated Bruce Pratt and in District 7 (North Kona, North Kohala, South Kohala), Cindy Evans defeated Jeffrey Coakley.
Email Ivy Ashe at iashe@hawaiitribune-herald.com.