Smart, honest, hard working and relatively young...

Those are some of the criteria former Rep. Brian Schatz used to single out four legislators as most promising in his "Straight Schatz" column in the current Honolulu Weekly. Here are some selected comments by Schatz on each one:

Photo: Karl Rhoads at press conference to announce Kukui Gardens appropriation. Honolulu Star-Bulletin

Rep Karl Rhoads (Democrat - Downtown, Kakaako, Iwilei). "You either choose to be an outcast rebel with no internal traction, or you have to sell your soul to the whims of party leaders. Rep. Rhoads reminds us that not all bargains are necessarily Faustian."

Rep. Lynn Finnegan (Republican - Lower Pearlridge, Aiea). "Despite her talent for articulating the Republican philosophy and her ability to reach across the aisle, the number of her colleagues are dwindling. She's a thoughtful, real conservative, and while I can't think of a major issue on which we agree, she comes by her positions with integrity and clarity."

Sen. Jill Tokuda (Democrat - Kaneohe). "She doesn't gravitate toward the easy issues -- in fact, the thornier it is , the more she puts herself in the middle of the mix. This has earned the respect of her colleagues and will pay off in the long run, even though she's taking some lumps now."

Rep. Ryan Yamane (Democrat - Mililani). "He doesn't get caught up in internal politics, and is in political service, in my estimation, for the same reasons that he is a social worker--he wants to help people. He's smart, but does not have the politician's compulsion to prove he's the smartest guy in the room."

Photo: Ryan Yamane greets Barack Obama

Agree? Disagree?