William J Sanborn, according to the 2/04/2010 election reports is not only listed for Hawaii County Council (District 9- Kohala) but also State House District 7.

William Sanborn previously ran unsuccessfully for Board of Education in 2008.

Freshman Councilman Dennis Onishi, of Hilo, has also pulled papers readying for re-election. He has no known challengers to date, but he’s been raising money to defray a negative $2,447 campaign balance.

Contributions in Onishi’s most recent reporting period include $500 from Hawaiian Rainforest Water Co. LLC on Nov. 20, as well as $200 from Yamanaka Realty Inc. on Dec. 28 and $200 from Yamanaka Enterprises Inc. on Dec. 28, according to his year-end campaign finance report.

Read the rest on West Hawaii Today.

Several potential candidates have announced and introduced themselves to the communities that they wish to represent on the Hawaii County Council.

Dr. James Weatherford- contender for District 5’s seat currently held by Emily Naeole-Beason posted this letter on Big Island Chronicle:

My approach on the Council will be to apply the work ethic I learned as a child doing farm chores and applied in more than 20 years of public service in agriculture and rural development, mass transit, economic analysis, and education.

Weatherford hilights his education, and experience- both as a working professional and as a private citizen participating frequently in county government.

In District 6- a younger face has made her intents known via Big Island Weekly:

Brittany Smart quoted Mahatma Ghandi when she said: “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

The 26-year-old resident of Na`alehu then added that she’s motivated by this advice and is campaigning to run for the County Council District 6 seat.

“It’s time for my generation to step up and say what they want for their future, get the ball rolling, and make it happen,” she said.

Smart isn’t the first in young citizen contenders to the Hawaii County Council. During the 2008 elections, Jet Heng and Anthony Marzi- both young students attending UH-Hilo unsuccessfully ran for Councillor seats in Districts 4 and 5, respectively.

However, a potential advantage for grassroots candidates- regardless of age will be the public funding pilot program that takes affect this election.

One of the perceived benefits of this particular program is that it will empower more candidates to engage in a competitive campaign.

Those wishing to qualify for public funding are not to accept contributions from private sources, obtain 200 signatures of district residents along with a $5.00 donation.

The funding comes from a 1978 Constitutional Convention amendment where Hawaii voters created the Hawaii Election Campaign Fund- which was originally a partial funding system. Hawaii residents can choose to contribute to the Hawaii Election Campaign Fund by checking a box when filing their tax returns.

Critics of the program say that funds are issued on a first-come, first serve basis. There is no way to control which candidate receives one’s contribution- essentially a person can be unwillingly contributing to a campaign that they do not support.

Both Weatherford and Smart will be seeking public funding for these elections.