TIME Magazine selected Donald Trump as the Person of the Year for 2016. The Presidential campaign definitely dominated all forms of media. But when you think back on 2016, what event or news story – local, national or global – made the biggest impression on you? Maybe you learned a lot from it.

The 2016 Presidential Election will be remembered for many things. The ongoing rancor that drove the energy of this election may be a force that’s here to stay.   What about us? Has the meanness movement reach our shores? Locally, issues like rail, homelessness and GMOs have created disagreement and division among Hawai‘i people.

Although difficult to imagine, the 2016 Election will be over after Tuesday, Nov. 8. The U.S. Congress, our State Legislature and the County Councils will soon be back in session working on the issues debated and promises made during recent campaigns. All three levels government will be represented on this edition of INSIGHTS.

Gladys Baisa cannot run again for Maui County Council due to term limits. The non-partisan race for her seat representing Upcountry Maui is between Kula resident Yuki Lei Sugimura, a small business owner and former aide to Senator Daniel Akaka, and Napua Greig-Nakasone, an entertainer and kumu hula who also served on the State […]

During the first half of this INSIGHTS, four-term West O‘ahu incumbent Senator Will Espero is scheduled to face outspoken community activist Kurt Fevella. Improving education and cooling classrooms are top District 19 issues. “I don’t just hear about the problems in ‘Ewa – I live them,” says Fevella.

In nonpartisan Honolulu City Council District 7 (a sprawling and diverse area of Honolulu with Kalihi at its core), Councilmember Joey Manahan is seeking a second four-year term. His opponent, former state legislative aide Chace Shigemasa, has never held public office and strongly believes incumbents need to be challenged.

Two attorneys are vying to represent the people of O‘ahu in criminal prosecutions. In this nonpartisan race, incumbent Honolulu City Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro faces challenger Anosh Yaqoob, who says he’s proud that he’s not an “insider” and doesn’t want to see another incumbent run unopposed.   Meanwhile, Honolulu Democrat Rep.

In State House District 22 (Waikiki-Ala Moana-Kaka‘ako), Democratic incumbent Rep. Tom Brower is seeking his sixth term and faces a challenge from Republican Kathryn Henski, a retired businesswoman. Brower is the lawmaker who suffered injuries in an assault last year at a Kaka‘ako homeless camp where he was videotaping.

INSIGHTS hosts live candidate discussions for two hotly contested neighbor island races:   –Kaua‘i State House District 14 incumbent Derek Kawakami has opted out of running for re-election, choosing instead to run for Kaua‘i County Council. Kaua‘i County managing director Nadine Nakamura and activist Fern Rosenstiel are vying for this seat.

State Senator Suzanne Chun Oakland, who has represented District 13 for 26 years, is retiring at the end of this term, leaving this local race without an incumbent. District 13 includes a portion of Downtown Honolulu and the outlying neighborhoods of Nu‘uanu and Liliha.