Maui Council sets Nov. 3 special meeting to establish process for filling Kahului vacancy

The Maui County Council will hold a special meeting at 9 a.m. Nov. 3 — and take public testimony — to establish a process to fill the Kahului residency seat vacancy left Sunday by the death of Council Member Natalie “Tasha” Kama.

The Nov. 3 meeting can be viewed live on Akakū – Maui Community Media, cable Channel 53 or on the Council’s YouTube channel. It’s also accessible online via Teams at http://tinyurl.com/2p9zhjr2.

To testify by phone, call 1-808-977-4067, code 234 794 559#. In person testimony will be taken in the order of signups in the eighth floor Council Chambers of the Kalana O Maui Building at 200 South High St. in Wailuku.

Time is of the essence. The Council now split 4-4 has 30 days to name a successor to the seven-year council member who usually voted with the Council majority members: Chair Alice Lee, Vice Chair and Budget, Finance and Economic Committee Chair Yuki Lei Sugimura and Council Members Tom Cook and Nohelani Uʻu-Hodgins. The remaining four are progressive-leaning Council Members Tamara Paltin, Shane Sinenci, Gabe Johnson and Keani Rawlins-Fernandez.

Friction between the majority and minority members has surfaced from time to time. Recently, it came up in a contentious session over the hotly debated Honuaʻula project in South Maui. Possibly less contentious, but a nevertheless high stakes Nov. 12 first reading vote is upcoming on Bill 9, the proposed phase-out of short-term vacation rentals in apartment-zoned districts.

If the Council gets deadlocked in choosing a successor for Kama, then the appointment will be made by Mayor Richard Bissen under the Maui County Charter.