Weaning Hawai'i off its oil dependence, eliminating the general excise tax on food and medical services, and creating a support network for seniors are some of the goals of candidates running in the state Senate District 24 race.

The issues have played out before in the public arena, and with the cost of oil skyrocketing and a surplus building in the state general fund, legislators could be debating the topics come January along with education, homelessness and property taxes that Windward residents say they want addressed.

Sen. Bob Hogue, who represents the district (most of Kailua and parts of Kane'ohe), has decided to run for Congress, leaving the race without an incumbent.

The two communities are more urban than their agricultural neighbors but they have a small-town, rural atmosphere that everyone cherishes.

Still, the area has problems, and residents want candidates to address their concerns.

"I hope they put education in the forefront, not just throw money at it, but actually make accountability, responsibility and competency a trend and priority for all people involved," said Patty Yamashiro-Hironaka, a Kane'ohe Neighborhood Board member and business owner.

Yamashiro-Hironaka said she also wants candidates to promote sustainable growth of the population, housing, tourism and other resources.

Higher education also needs attention, said Kailua resident Claudine Tomasa, a Kailua Neighborhood Board member.

"But I'm hoping we're not looking at spending any money to open a campus on the west side," Tomasa said. "Maybe we should be focusing on building the infrastructure and work with what we have, like in the community colleges."

Kailua residents worry about the commercialization of Kailua Beach Park, the growth of illegal vacation rental units and the impact of commercial development by Kane'ohe Ranch, Tomasa said.

The candidates, two Republicans and one Democrat, all have strong ties to the community, growing up and attending school there.

Tom Pico Jr. is running to address four core issues: crime prevention, taxes and the economy, traffic congestion and alternative energy.

But education also has his attention, said Pico, a Republican. As a Kailua High School graduate who has children in both public and private schools, he said Hawai'i schools' problems haven't changed in generations.

"We knew 30-40 years ago we had an overpowering bureaucracy," Pico said. "We've known that a smaller class size is really the key."

He said he supports exploring new solutions, such as vouchers, and if they don't work, they can be discarded.

Government and tax incentives could help reduce Hawai'i's oil dependency and promote environment-friendly energy like photovoltaics, or the use of light to create power, Pico said.

Pico will face Republican Keoki Leong, a fourth-generation Windward resident, in the primary. Both want to eliminate the excise tax on food, medicine and medical services. With the state building a surplus fund, now would be a good time to help some of Hawai'i's neediest residents, Pico said.

Leong said he penned a bill last year to end the general excise tax on groceries and over-the-counter medicine, while working as chief of staff for Hogue. Leong also wrote a bill to eliminate the state tax on automobile fuel.

"When I'm elected, I will make eliminating the food and medicine tax my top priority," Leong said.

He said he worked the bipartisan angle to secure an all-weather track for Castle High School.

The predominantly Democratic Legislature had provided for the track, but Gov. Linda Lingle was reluctant to release the money because it was not a Department of Education priority, Leong said.

"The governor's office was very receptive to our efforts, liked the bipartisan and community-based support, and the money was released," Leong said, adding that he would be able to maintain the strong connection between the community and the governor's office.

His legislative activities include working to increase school-repair funds and drafting crime-fighting bills, he said. Leong said drug prevention programs would be enhanced by developing youth centers and mentoring programs.

The winner of the Republican primary will face unopposed Democrat Jill Tokuda in the general election.

Tokuda, a Castle High School graduate, said she was surprised at the number of security options — including sensors, dogs, warning signs and video cameras — she saw while walking her district.

"That's a real physical reminder that there are problems out there in terms of property theft and crime that we have to deal with," Tokuda said.

She wants to focus on that as well as public education and creating a support network for seniors and the people who care for them, she said.

But Tokuda also wants to form partnerships as she did with Charitable Ventures to solve some of Hawai'i's problems while helping nonprofit groups and schools raise money through recycling beverage containers. After 10 months of success, she merged with Reynolds Recycling in hopes of providing curbside pickup to the entire state within two years, she said.

After more than a year, she has charitable groups collecting containers and businesses donating their recyclables to charities, and her company processes the material. With their proceeds, schools have paid for a P.E. teacher, provided art in the classroom and purchased textbooks, she said.

"We split the nickel with the charities, and they make money while they sleep," Tokuda said, adding that she wants to find similar partnerships that benefit the state.

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com.