Council deadlocks on Kama successor; decision moves to Mayor Bissen

The Maui County Council failed to reach a majority decision Tuesday afternoon in appointing a successor to the late Council Member Natalie “Tasha” Kama, effectively handing the selection authority to Mayor Richard Bissen. He will vet candidates for the position.

In response to a request for comment, Maui County spokesperson Laksmi Abraham said: “In light of recent events, and consistent with Section 3-4 of the Maui County Charter, the Mayor shall appoint a person to fill this vacancy without a special election. With the Council’s appointment window closing at midnight tonight, Mayor Bissen will move forward with vetting candidates to fill the Kahului seat for the remainder of the term.”

Abraham recited the eligibility requirements for the position in the Maui County Charter. Those include being a US citizen, a Maui County voter and a resident of the Council residency area (Kahului) for at least one year.

In response to a request for comment, Lee said via email that: “We wanted to honor Council Member Tasha Kama’s dying wish. Kauanoe has extraordinary qualifications and has been in the County administration for several years. He’s familiar with all the departments as well with the County Council. He was an executive assistant to Vice Chair Sugimura around 2019.

“He’s a well balanced and thoughtful individual,” she said. “We ‘re hoping the mayor will select him.”

Three votes, but no majority

With the Council split between two distinct four-member voting blocks, the members could not garner the necessary five votes for any of the three applicants: Virgilio “Leo” Agcolicol, Kelson Kauanoe Batangan or Carol Lee Kamekona.

The Council voted on three resolutions, each proposing one of the applicants to fill the Kahului residency seat for the remainder of the 2025–2027 term.

The first vote to appoint Batangan failed 4-4. Council Chair Lee, Vice-Chair Yuki Lei Sugimura, and Council Members Nohelani Uʻu-Hodgins and Tom Cook supported the nomination. Council Members Tamara Paltin, Keani Rawlins-Fernandez, Shane Sinenci and Gabe Johnson voted no. Batangan, previously the deputy director of the Department of Transportation, currently serves as the executive director of the Maui Metropolitan Planning Organization, a transportation planning agency for Maui.

The second vote for Kamekona garnered three votes: Council Members Sinenci, Rawlins-Fernandez and Johnson. Kamekona serves as an aide to Sinenci and is a longtime advocate for the homeless. She ran three times unsuccessfully against Kama.

The third vote for Agcolicol also failed, securing three votes in favor: Council Members Paltin, Rawlins-Fernandez and Sinenci. Agcolicol is a veteran, a retired banking executive and former radio personality.

Lee, Sugimura, Uʻu-Hodgins and Cook indicated they would only support Batangan, citing him as Kama’s preferred successor. In moving to adopt a resolution in favor of Batangan, Uʻu-Hodgins said it was her “privilege to do this nomination today,” adding, “I have never really been asked to carry out someone’s final wishes before.”

Sugimura seconded the motion and for Batangan, saying, “I stand by Kelson Batangan because of what he presented in terms of his experience with the county, with the wildfire and helping… And the strength of his education.” (He’s an alumnus of Stanford and Columbia universities.) Cook added that Batangan would “contribute a great deal during the balance of the term.”

Johnson, however, voted no on Batangan, saying, “I tried to stick with my guns, and I wanted policy to influence my decision on this. It was the policy, not my emotions.” He expressed concern over Batangan’s self-described “fiscally conservative” stance, saying, “I don’t want to operate from a position of scarcity when we have such big needs for our communities.”

Calls for a special election

Throughout the short afternoon meeting, a tension existed between the Charter’s mandate for appointment and some members’ preference for an election. Rawlins-Fernandez said she “really dislike(s) the process of appointing someone to a seat, and then that individual then gets the incumbency advantage in the following election.” She added: “I too would prefer this being handled by a special election. And therefore, I do plan to submit . . . legislation to consider that a later time.”

Paltin, though supporting Agcolicol, echoed the sentiment: “My preference would have been a special election as well.” However, she expressed support for Agcolicol as a choice to finish out the term, calling the remainder of the term “a moment in time.” She said he has “decades long experience in finance, who has been a pillar of the Kahului community and started so much organizations.”

Sinenci introduced the resolution for Kamekona, noting her extensive community service. He said she “always comes to work as bright and bubbly as her attire… but always with a warm smile.” He also mentioned that she ran alongside Kama in three separate campaigns.

Johnson supported Kamekona, citing her involvement in the community: “I appreciate Carol Lee Kamekona’s work with the unsheltered. I think it takes a certain type of person to do that kind of work, and it’s not easy.”

Earlier in the day, Lee recessed the proceedings from 9 a.m. until noon, noting that only five members were present at the start of the meeting. While five members constitute a quorum, a unanimous vote would have been required to pass any measure with that number. The Council reconvened at 12:26 p.m. with all eight council members participating.

Under the Maui County Charter, if the Council fails to fill a vacancy within 30 days of its occurrence, the mayor must appoint a successor for the unexpired term. Tuesday marked the deadline for Council action following Kama’s passing on Oct. 26.

The vacancy for the Kahului residency seat has drawn intense public interest, as the incoming member will likely serve as a swing vote on a body that has frequently seen 5-4 splits on hotly contentious legislation.

The Council had adopted a resolution earlier this month creating a process to interview candidates while acknowledging the tight 30-day deadline mandated by the Charter. The process culminated in interviews last Thursday, where clear policy differences emerged between Batangan and Kamekona, particularly regarding the Mayor’s Bill 9 on transient accommodations.

Kama, who held the Kahului residency seat, died Oct. 26 in the intensive care unit of Maui Memorial Medical Center. She was 73.

She chaired the Council’s Housing and Land Use Committee, and she was known for her work on affordable housing and her often decisive vote on a divided Council. Her son-in-law, Evan Dust, testified last week that it was Kama’s “dying wish” that Batangan succeed her.

Editor’s note: This is a final update from the originally posted story. It includes meeting discussion among council members, a statement from Maui County spokesperson Laksmi Abraham and quote from Council Chair Alice Lee.