While the two finalists in the mayor’s race are grabbing much of the spotlight before the Nov. 3 election, three races for City Council seats also deserve close looks by voters.

The Council is tasked with determining policy decisions for city government, affecting everything from land development to homelessness and the rail project. When it assembles in January, five of its nine members will be new, elected during the 2020 season. Because of term limits, none of this year’s races included an incumbent.

A new Council majority will touch off a churn in leadership as the nonpartisan panel takes on both a challenging roster of city-shaping issues and expected belt-tightening of expenses as the city faces a drop in revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Forward-focused decision-making will be needed for Honolulu in this new normal.

A commitment to cooperation among Council members and a new mayor — Keith Amemiya or Rick Blangiardi, neither of whom has been tested as an elected official — will be key to effectively tackling big-ticket problems, such as securing sufficient funding to complete rail construction, with this still-worthwhile public transit system stretching from East Kapolei to Ala Moana.

Each newly elected Council member will serve a four-year term. Two already selected, Andria Tupola and Calvin Say, are former Hawaii legislators; both locked up seats in the August primary by capturing more than half the ballots in District 1 (Ewa to the Waianae Coast) and District 5 (Kaimuki to Ala Moana), respectively.

Here are our endorsements for the three remaining Council seats:

>> District 3 (Waimanalo to Kaneohe): Esther Kia‘aina, executive director of the Pacific Basin Development Council and a former assistant secretary of the Interior under President Barack Obama, is facing off against Greg Thielen, a home builder and small-business owner.

Ikaika Anderson, who held this seat for nearly two full terms, was serving as Council chairman when he resigned this month.

While neither candidate has held elected office, Kia‘aina has held positions in Congress and state government. Among the district needs Kia‘aina ranks as most pressing: reducing the cost of living and increasing access to affordable housing.

To help address the city’s long-standing affordable housing shortage, Kia‘aina favors policies to improve the use of city properties to add affordable units; and upgrade aging infrastructure (water, wastewater, municipal roads). Thielen, too, ranks housing issues as top priorities, and sees incentives that spur more construction of accessory dwell units (ADUs) as a needed cost-efficient solution.

While Thielen’s home-building business insights and community roots in Windward Oahu might be assets, Kai‘aina has potential to help Honolulu navigate its next few cash-strapped years, given her years of experience in government — including first-hand knowledge of how the city could benefit from federal support and funding for pandemic-related relief and other projects, such as the $9.2 billion rail. She should get the chance to serve.

>> District 7 (Kalihi to Foster Village): Radiant Cordero, who serves as chief of staff for the district’s current seat-holder, Joey Manahan, is in a match up with Jacob Aki, chief of staff to state Senate Majority Leader Sen. Kalani English of Maui. Neither candidate has held elected office, but both have several years of experience in government.

Both point to cost-of-living challenges and climate change as threats to district residents. And both would advocate for residents to have a stronger voice in the city’s handling of issues, such as affordable housing and infrastructure fixes to cope with persistent flooding in areas such as Mapunapuna, which is experiencing the effects of sea level rise.

Aki has also served as a neighborhood board member, taking on some tough issues such as private roads, illegal dumping, abandoned properties and public safety. Both Aki and Cordero would bring can-do energy to the Council. Given that Cordero has the edge of a full decade of local government experience, she gets our vote.

>> District 9 (Mililani to Ewa Beach): Will Espero, a former state senator and Augusto (AugieT) Tulba , a comedian and businessman, are vying to succeed Ron Menor.

Espero, who served in the Legislature for 19 years, has secured endorsements from groups ranging from the Sierra Club of Hawaii to the Hawaii Firefighters Association; he has a long list of priority issues, which run the gamut from recycling, to adding bike lanes, to ending homelessness.

Tulba, who is endorsed by groups including SHOPO (State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers) and the Hawaii Lodging &Tourism Association, lists public safety as his top concern, and would work to increase the number of patrol beats in the district.

But it’s Espero, with a solid legislative track record of working through complex community problems with the aim of reaching equitable solutions, who gets our vote.