Jeanné Kapela, Miss Hawaii 2015, is running again for the state House of Representatives District 5 seat held by Rep. Richard Creagan.
Kapela, who turned 25 on Tuesday, lost to Creagan in a three-day primary election to represent the sprawling district, which runs from North and South Kona to West Ka‘u. Raised on a small coffee farm in Captain Cook, she graduated from Konawaena High School in 2012.
“Our community deserves leadership with aloha,” Kapela said in a statement. “Two years ago, my campaign started a movement to bring hope to those who need it most. Today, faced with a soaring cost of living, crumbling schools, and climate change, that movement is more urgent than ever.”
Kapela serves as executive director of UNITE Hawaii, operations coordinator for the Kona Historical Society, director of the Miss Kona Coffee scholarship pageant and is a member of the Kona Coffee Farmers Association Board of Directors.