State Sen. Lorraine Inouye said yesterday she intends to run for Big Island mayor next year, giving up a re-election campaign for her Senate seat for another chance at a job she held for two years in the early 1990s.

"I'm ready to take the challenge on the local level," said Inouye, a former Big Island County council member and mayor who has served in the Senate for the past decade.

Two Big Island County council members — Stacy Higa, who represents Hilo, and Angel Pilago, who represents Kona — have also announced they are running for mayor.

Billy Kenoi, an aide to Big Island Mayor Harry Kim, may also be planning a campaign. Kim is leaving office after two four-year terms because of term limits.

Inouye's announcement will likely lead to a competitive race for Senate District 1, which covers Hamakua and South Hilo. State Rep. Dwight Takamine, D-1st (Kohala, Hamakua, N. Hilo), has told several people he plans to run for the seat. Ted Hong, a former state labor negotiator, is also considering a campaign.

Inouye, a Democrat, identified issues such as traffic, infrastructure, solid waste, environmental management and public safety that will likely be part of her campaign. "The traffic problems in West Hawai'i are certainly a priority," she said.

Inouye, who worked in the hotel industry, was on the County Council for six years and won a special election in 1990 to fill out the remaining two years of Bernard Akana's term as mayor after Akana died. She lost the mayor's job to Steve Yamashiro in 1992 and lost to Yamashiro again in the 1996 mayoral primary.

Inouye was elected to the Senate in 1998 and has focused on transportation, military and government affairs issues. She is the chairwoman of the Senate Intergovernmental and Military Affairs Committee. She is also a vice chair of the transportation committee of the National Council of State Legislatures.

Inouye is an ally of former Senate President Robert Bunda, D-22nd (North Shore, Wahiawa), who lost power when Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, D-21st (Nanakuli, Makaha), took over last year.

Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com.