HLTA President & CEO Mufi Hannemann (left) and Rep. Justin Woodson, District 9 State House (right).

The Hawai‘i Lodging & Tourism Association- the state’s largest private sector tourism organization comprised of 700 members representing more than 50,000 hotel rooms and nearly 40,000 lodging workers- announced its endorsement of Maui candidates seeking office in the upcoming General Election. 

HLTA President & CEO Mufi Hannemann said, “We are proud to endorse these candidates for public office and look forward to working together for a better Maui.”

In the Hawai‘i State Legislature, HLTA endorsed incumbents Gil Keith-Agaran, Justin Woodson, and Lynn DeCoite to retain their seats, citing their support of the tourism industry on the Valley Isle.

“Senator Keith-Agaran, and Representatives Woodson and DeCoite have been strong supporters of the vast tourism industry in Maui,” said Hannemann. “They recognize the need for responsible tourism management in a community like Maui’s, and we will continue to work closely with them to attain this goal.”

“These endorsements were not made lightly; each of these candidates completed a tourism-centric questionnaire that focused on a variety of issues that face our industry. Endorsement committees on each island reviewed the completed questionnaires before making recommendations to HLTA’s statewide endorsement committee. The final, agreed upon slate of candidates was then approved by the HLTA Board of Directors.”

“This was a critical endorsement process for us,” said Hannemann. “Our local tourism industry faces a long road ahead in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and HLTA wanted to endorse the candidates that we felt would be strong advocates for both tourism and the greater community.”

For the Maui County Council, HLTA endorsed a candidate for each seat with a mix of new candidates and incumbents.

Hannemann stressed the importance of a council working collaboratively with Mayor Michael Victorino to get Maui’s economy working again saying, “HLTA endorsed Mayor Victorino two years ago because of his desire to improve and strengthen the County’s number one industry.  Our committee felt it was imperative that our endorsed council candidates share a similar view and philosophy.  

Listed below are the Hawai‘i Lodging & Tourism Association’s endorsed candidates from Maui:

Hawai‘i State Senate
Gil S. Coloma Keith-Agaran, District 5

Hawai‘i State House of Representatives
Justin Woodson, District 9
Lynn DeCoite, District 13

Maui County Council
Claire Kamalu Carroll, East Maui
Rick Nava, West Maui
Alice Lee, Wailuku-Waihe‘e-Waikapū
Yuki Lei Sugimura, Upcountry
Tasha Kama, Kahului
Tom Cook, South Maui
Alberta De Jetley, Lāna‘i
Stacy Helm Crivello, Moloka‘i

The Hawai‘i Lodging & Tourism Association is a statewide organization representing hotels, condominiums, timeshares, other lodging entities, suppliers, and related firms and individuals. HLTA is dedicated to supporting Hawai‘i’s visitor industry through education, political action, and membership benefits, and raising awareness about its contributions to communities throughout the state.

*****Endorsements are those of the organization alone and do not reflect or represent the opinions, policies or positions of Maui Now.*****