Why Run? GOP Candidate Says She’s ‘Fed Up’
“I’m fed up.”
That’s the reason Marissa Capelouto is running for the state House of Representatives.
In spite of losing to Democrat Sharon Har two years ago, Capelouto, 50, says she’s eager for another try because taxes and regulations are killing businesses.
They include her own, Oahu Express, a Kapolei shipping company.
“We are over-taxed and over-regulated,” Capelouto said Monday as she and other Republicans gathered at the state Office of Elections in Pearl City for a photo-op. “We’re losing the confidence of our business owners and outside investors.”
But Capelouto thinks she’s a better candidate this time around.
She took 32 percent of the vote in 2010 in the District 42 seat that includes Kapolei and Makakilo.
That amounted to some 3,000 votes out of about 9,000 cast. Her goal: pick up 1,500 supporters that went the other way last time.
“My signs are already up,” she says.
Two Beauty Queens
Republicans have been the minority party for so long that it sometimes seems hopeless that they’ll manage to win more seats.
But every two years the party manages to recruit candidates to take a shot at it.
Nacia Blom, the party’s executive director, said the GOP has as many as 15 candidates committed to state Senate runs this year and as many as 35 for House seats.
About a dozen Republicans were in Pearl City Monday to support each other and stand with those who were filing before Tuesday’s deadline. They’ll need the candidates to break the 43-8 Democratic majority in the House and the 24-1 hold on the Senate.
Blom was upbeat.
“We’re super-excited,” she said. “Redistricting has helped us form an excellent slate. They include two beauty queens and a bunch of military.”
They include candidates like Christopher Murphy, who is running for the House seat representing Wahiawa. His campaign business card, which shows an American flag, reads, “Fighting for your freedom.”
Murphy has a tough hill to climb. The incumbent in the race is Marcus Oshiro, a popular and well-connected Democrat, who won by a 2-to-1 margin in 2010.
Capelouto’s husband, Dean, meanwhile, is running for Senate District 20 — it includes some of the same neighborhoods that Marissa is running in — which is currently occupied by Democrat Mike Gabbard. It’s Dean’s first time, and Marissa says he’s running for many of the same reasons as she is.
The Capeloutos met in Manila when Dean was stationed in the Philippines. She moved to Hawaii in 1987 and voted for the first President Bush in 1988.
In addition to business issues — “Gas prices are too high” — Capelouto wants to protect “Hawaii family values and culture.”
That includes marriage. Capelouto, who says she has no problem with people being gay, doesn’t want to “touch the Constitution.”
She’s also angry at the Leeward Coast serving as a place for Oahu’s hazardous waste. It’s home to the landfill, a power plant, refineries, an industrial park and H-Power.
How will Capelouto pull off a victory this time?
“More canvassing,” she said. “Face-to-face meetings, town halls, forums, press releases.”
“We’re having a banner year,” promised Nacia Blom, the party executive. “We’re going to have an amazing turnout.”
