Thirteen Candidates Apply for Vacant District 13 House Seat

Mele Carroll. Courtesy photo.

By Maui Now Staff

Thirteen candidates have applied to fill the vacant seat in House District 13 left by Rep. Mele Carroll, who resigned on Feb. 1, 2015. The Maui County Democratic Party received the applications for the district seat, which includes Pā‘ia, Ha‘ikū, East Maui, Moloka‘i, Lāna‘i and Kaho‘olawe.

The applicants include Shay Chan Hodges, David Fry, Susan “Netra” Halperin and Robert Parsons of Ha‘ikū; Lori Buchanan, Barbara Haliniak, Lynn Decoite and Noelani Yamashita of Moloka‘i; Scott Crawford of Hāna; Lucienne Denaie of Huelo; Alberta De Jetley and Kay Okamoto of Lāna‘i; and Lance Holter of Pā‘ia.

The 23 members of the District 13 Council will meet as the official nominating committee for the applicants on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2015. Each candidate will be allowed to speak for up to 10 minutes and committee members can vote for up to three people.

Once three finalists are identified by the nominating committee, their names will be send to the Maui County Democratic chair and the Hawai‘i County Democratic Party chair, who will forward them to the governor. Gov. David Ige has 60 calendar days following the Feb. 1 vacancy to choose of the candidates to fill the House seat.

The top three names selected will not be released by the nominating committee, but may be disclosed at the governor’s discretion.

For more information, contact Maui County Party Chair Troy Hashimoto at (808) 249-0333 or via email at [email protected].

The following descriptions are brief bios on the candidates taken from their resumes.

• Lori Buchanan of Moloka‘i is a field outreach coordinator for the Moloka‘i/Maui Invasive Species Committee and the co-owner of Moloka‘i Security Service. She serves as a member of the Moloka‘i Planning Commission.
• Shay Chan Hodges of Ha‘ikū is the author of “Lean on and Lead, Mother and Work in the 21st Century Economy” and a freelance technical and grant writer.
• Scott Crawford of Hāna is the executive director of Kipahulu ‘Ohana and serves as the chairperson of the Maui Nui Makai Network.
• Lynn DeCoite of Moloka‘i is the owner of L&R Farm Enterprises and R.J. Snacks. She serves as a member of the state Board of Agriculture and is the president of the Moloka‘i Homestead Farmer’s Alliance.
• Alberta De Jetley of Lāna‘i is the publisher and editor of Lāna‘i Today and the owner of Alberta’s farm, Lāna‘i’s largest commercial farm. She was a previous chair of the Lāna‘i Chamber of Commerce.
• Lucienne De Naie of Huelo is a self-employed consultant. She serves as the secretary of the Ha‘ikū Community Association and is a member of the Maui Cultural Lands Advisory Board.
• David Fry of Ha‘ikū is the owner and founder of Tanuki Interactive, a web development and strategy company. He serves as a board member of the Ha‘ikū Community Association.
• Barbara Haliniak of Moloka‘i is the president and owner of The Business Depot, a bookkeeping and payroll service. She also serves as president and founder of Moloka‘i Island Foundation, which supports inclusion of the STEM project in a school’s curriculum.
• Susan “Netra” Halperin of Ha‘ikū is the co-founder and executive director of Restorative Solutions Maui, a nonviolent communication in schools program, and serves as a board member of the Ha‘ikū Community Association.
• Lance Holter of Pā‘ia is the owner and broker of Lance Holter Real Estate and Construction. He is a former chair of the Maui County Democratic Party and a former Maui Tomorrow Board Member.
• Robert Parsons of Ha‘ikū serves as an executive assistant to Mayor Alan Arakawa. He is a former chair for the Maui Conservation Alliance.
• Kay Okamoto of Lāna‘i is the owner and principal broker of Okamoto Realty and a former educator. She previously served on the Maui County Charter Commission and the Maui County General Plan Advisory Committee.
• Noelani Yamashita of Moloka‘i is the executive director of Ka Honua Momona International, a nonprofit dedicated to revitalizing natural and cultural resources. She is a graduate of both the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and Princeton University.