HILO — Former Miss Hawaii Jeanne Kapela announced Thursday she’s throwing her crown in the ring for what’s shaping up as a competitive race for the open District 5 House seat.
Kapela, 23, was named Miss Hawaii in 2015, becoming the first Kona contestant to win the title in 18 years. She competed at Miss America and captured the title of Miss Congeniality. In 2014, she was named Miss Kona Coffee.
Raised on a small coffee farm in Captain Cook, Kapela graduated from Konawaena High School in 2012 and is currently pursuing a graduate certificate online in social justice from Harvard University.
“Everything I’ve accomplished in my life, thus far, is a result of the values I learned growing up in Kona,” Kapela said in a statement. “I want to inspire our community and its keiki to take pride in the extraordinary place we call home.”
Kapela plans to concentrate on protecting West Hawaii’s agricultural and coffee industries, promoting a quality education to all children, and championing the needs of the island’s workforce.
Having had a cousin victimized by sex trafficking, Kapela is also working to combat that crime.
She’s the executive director of a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness of the issue, as she calls it “education to end exploitation.” In particular, she said, it focuses on schoolchildren, to teach them to protect themselves. Her hope is to eliminate human trafficking within a generation.
She’s also pushing for women’s rights, particularly equal pay for equal work, she said.
“Becoming Miss Hawaii taught me the value of public service,“ said Kapela. “I want to bring that sense of service to West Hawaii’s residents, who deserve a leader who will put people before politics.”
The South Kona/Ka‘u seat is being vacated by state Rep. Richard Creagan, a Democrat, who is running for the state Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Josh Green, a Democrat running for lieutenant governor. The sprawling House district covers Naalehu to portions of Holualoa.
Running as a Democrat, Kapela will likely face two other announced candidates in the Aug. 11 primary. Candidate filing begins Feb. 1.
Ocean View resident Raina Whiting, 30, the elected Democratic Party national delegate for Bernie Sanders in 2016, has also announced she’s running. So has Brenda Ford, 70, who served eight years on the County Council before being term-limited in 2014.