On this INSIGHTS, we’ll meet the finalists for a Honolulu Council District which has no incumbent in the race and we’ll look at the face-off between a challenger and a sitting Congressman:

—Honolulu City Council District 7 is one of five seats on the council up for grabs as all the incumbents have reached their term limits. This nonpartisan seat is held by outgoing Councilmember Joey Manahan. The district includes Kalihi, Māpunapuna, Salt Lake, Foster Village and Sand Island.

Two candidates with deep roots in the district are running for the position. One, Radiant Cordero is Councilman Manahan’s Chief of Staff. The other, Jacob Aki also works as Chief of Staff for an elected official – Maui State Senator Kalani English. Aki serves on the Kalihi-Pālama Neighborhood Board, and Cordero is a member of neighborhood security-watch groups in Kalihi and Salt Lake.

—U.S. Representative District 1 stretches from East Honolulu to Kapolei in West Oʻahu and Mililani in Central Oʻahu. Democrat Ed Case is the incumbent, facing Republican Ron Curtis, who beat four other Republicans in last August’s Primary. Curtis, retired on Kauaʻi, worked for federal government contractors as a career systems engineer. (Residency in the district is not required). Case, a Honolulu resident born and raised in Hilo, is an attorney and former State House Representative.

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