KAILUA-KONA — For the first time in 2016, voters in West Hawaii’s 5th District have a choice to make regarding who will represent them in the State House of Representatives.
KAILUA-KONA — For the first time in 2016, voters in West Hawaii’s 5th District have a choice to make regarding who will represent them in the State House of Representatives.
Incumbent Democrat Richard Creagan’s seat, which covers the southern tip of the island from Keauhou down to South Point, is being challenged by Libertarian candidate Michael Last. Both men ran unopposed in the August primary.
Creagan, who was appointed to the House to finish off Rep. Denny Coffman’s last term, won his first election in 2014 and has served for three years as the district’s representative. He believes he’s the best choice because as he put it, “success breeds success.”
“I’ve walked the walk,” he said. “I’ve been engaged with the community and got things done for quite a while. As a physician, I’ve been involved with the medical community. I’ve been involved with the schools, and I helped start the farmers market in Naalehu. If you’re doing a good job, I think people should keep you on so you can continue that good work.”
Creagan came to Hawaii Island 25 years ago to work in emergency medicine. Throughout his life, he’s worked as a physician, a human genetics researcher and as a prominent member of a biotech company.
He’s also worked as a middle school teacher and had his first experience in Hawaii in the 1960s while training for the Peace Corps. Creagan spent his time in the Corps serving in the Marshall Islands.
He said the economy is the underlying issue for everything that happens on the Big Island, but his more specific focus if he’s re-elected will be the development of the health care and educational systems across not only his district, but all of Hawaii County.
Creagan’s ultimate health care goal is to develop a university hospital through the University of Hawaii at Manoa in Kona.
It would serve as a teaching hospital, training future doctors in the fields of pediatrics, internal medicine, family practice, psychiatry and potentially obstetrics and gynecology. The facility, if realized, would also work in concert with Hilo Medical Center.
“Unfortunately, health care has improved very little on the Big Island in last 25 years, so I came up with an idea to have a university hospital here in Kona,” Creagan said. “It would be a much higher level hospital than we have here now.”
Creagan said that he — along with Kohala Rep. Cindy Evans of District 7, Kona Rep. Nicole Lowen of District 6 and Sen. Josh Green of District 3 — have worked together to secure $500,000 for a feasibility study to outline the steps necessary to make a university hospital in Kona a reality.
“I think we’ll be able to get it done,” he said.
In regards to the public education system, Creagan believes it’s crucial to better educate Hawaii’s future work force so they can stay at home and improve life on the island.
“What tends to happen is kids who are well educated go away and often don’t come back,” he said. “That’s a real challenge for Hawaii.”
Last, Creagan’s opponent, has run in several elections since moving to the Big Island nearly a quarter century ago.
He’s often run as an independent, but officially declared himself a Libertarian in 2014. His most recent foray into politics saw him finish second behind Green for the District 3 Senate seat.
He said his reason for running is simple — to provide the electorate with a choice.
“I do not like an incumbent running with no opposition. I hate it. I think that is totally un-American,” Last said. “You’ve got to have at least two people running.”
Last, a retired electrical engineer, said if elected, he’d focus on issues with statewide implications. Namely, the development of the gaming industry in Hawaii and a general divestment from the tourism industry, which he said benefits only a small number of the state’s population.
“I am not a gambler, but just because I don’t like it, who am I to say you can’t gamble here?” Last posed. “That’s the Libertarian position. I believe everyone has the right to do whatever they want provided it doesn’t harm anyone else.”
He added that he’d like to trim government intervention into people’s lives and cut spending in several areas, save for one.
“I’d like to cut taxes. I would not want us to spend any more money for any particular program that I could think of, except public education,” Last explained. We should spend more money for education, provided we get some bang for our buck.”
Last, who has refused to accept any public donations to his campaign, has also made it clear that he’s not interested in a long career in politics — something he said separates his political philosophy from that of his opponent and makes him the more sensible choice for voters.
“I am for the common man and woman who lives in Hawaii,” Last said. “I am not a member of a party, and I am not a career politician.”