INSIGHTS ON PBS HAWAIʻI Election 2020 brings us forums with candidates for two seats in the State Legislature – in Windward Oʻahu and East Honolulu.

In State House 51, consisting of Kailua and Waimānalo, incumbent Chris Lee is leaving to run for the Senate. Candidates seeking to fill the seat are Erik Ho from the Aloha ʻĀina Party, Kukana Kama-Toth from the Republican Party and Lisa Marten from the Democratic Party.

–Ho, born and raised in Waimānalo, graduated from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and served as an aerospace maintenance journeyman in the U.S. Air Force.

–Kama-Toth, a Waimānalo Neighborhood Board member, is a mother of five. She beat an opponent in the Republican Primary.

–Lisa Marten grew up in Kailua, earned a doctorate in public health from Columbia University and overcame three opponents in the Democratic Primary.

In East Honolulu’s State Senate 9, veteran lawmaker Sam Slom is trying to take back his seat from Stanley Chang, who was the voters’ choice in 2016.

–Democratic incumbent Chang is a former Honolulu City Councilmember who graduated from ʻIolani School and Harvard Law School.

–Slom served in the Legislature for 20 years and was the Senate’s sole Republican before losing to Chang. He is a graduate of UH Mānoa and La Salle law school.

Join the live discussion with the candidates on INSIGHTS. You can phone in, or leave us a comment on Facebook or Twitter. INSIGHTS is also streamed live on pbshawaii.org and PBS Hawaiʻi’s Facebook page.

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