P. Denise La Costa announces candidacy for Maui County Mayor

P. Denise La Costa, a Maui community leader and business owner, announced that she is running for Maui County Mayor.  The news was shared during a press conference Thursday, fronting the County Building in Wailuku.

She is among the latest to identify themselves as candidates for the County’s top job. Others include incumbent Mayor Richard Bissen, Maui County Council Vice Chair Yuki Lei Sugimura, and Justin Herrmann. Candidate filing officially begins Feb. 2, and ends on June 2, 2026. The Primary Election is on Aug. 8 and the General Election is on Nov. 3, 2026.

La Costa is a longtime Maui resident and former Planning Commissioner who has spent decades working on housing, land use, public safety and community recovery. She has led organizations, managed budgets, built businesses, and served Maui across nonprofit, regulatory, and community roles for more than 30 years.

Priorities outlined include rebuilding Lahaina faster and smarter, creating housing that works, diversifying the economy, and improving public safety and sustainability.  Part of her housing platform includes the repeal of Bill 9, which she says harms Maui’s economy.

The legislation seeks to return thousands of vacation rental units — mostly condominiums in West Maui and South Maui originally built for residential use — to the long-term housing market.  Advocates have said the bill restores balance and prioritizes the needs of people who live in Maui County; while opponents say it represents a significant economic risk with the loss of real property taxes and no recourse for property owners.

“Bill 9 will not create housing,” said La Costa. “It has already started to drive away families because the units that are included are barely big enough for a family of two, let alone three with pets and more than one vehicle. It also will destroy jobs.”

In making the announcement, La Costa was accompanied by several supporters with signs, including former Sen. Roz Baker of Maui.

Baker spoke in support of her longtime friend saying, “She’s been a great resource and guiding light for me since the fire. If there were decisions to be made or issues to be sorted out, she always offered thoughtful solutions, always considering the short and long term ramifications of those solutions she was offering.”

“She isn’t a knee jerk reactionary by any means,” said Baker. “La Costa considers all facets of the situation and offers solutions and makes decisions that are the best for the majority of the stakeholders. Rather than me, it has always been we… Maui needs a strong, intelligent businesswoman to right the ship.”

La Costa said she never had aspirations to be a politician, but felt a need to step forward. “After watching what has happened to us for the last three years, my dad used to say, ‘If you have an issue with someone or something, you either step up or hush up.’ And those of you who know me know I’m never going to hush up.”

“I want to make our islands better than they are today,” said La Costa. “Twenty-nine long months ago, after the fire, many families are still struggling, still grieving, still displaced. And I want so badly for families to finally have a place to call home that they don’t have to move every six months. They need stability in their housing to be able to have stability in their lives.”

“We are one county and we must do this together,” she said. La Costa is advocating for the implementation of “real housing solutions for families, new water sources,” and “real agricultural that feeds us good jobs for new industries like clean energy and technology, which offer our current citizens and our future generations a more stable living and options.”

“In addition to tourism, I will encourage growing the trades and work to ensure that the workforce for unions are trained and ready to build a sustainable community that helps us move forward in the coming years,” said La Costa.

La Costa is originally from Longview, Washington and is an avid Seahawks fan. Her road to Maui began in 1990 when she worked for famous band leader Lawrence Welk, and transferred with his company to Maui. She helped to run the project Welk acquired in a joint venture with The Shell Group. According to La Costa, she was the director of administration for the Maui Schooner timeshare on South Kīhei Road from 1990 to 1992.

“After we sold out in two and a half years, I got my real estate license, went into general real estate, got my brokers license in 2000, opened my own company in 2004, and, I’m still with La Costa Realty Hawaiʻi,” she said. As a broker and owner, La Costa manages operations, budgets and personnel, while serving residential, commercial and agricultural clients.

La Costa is a recent recipient of the REALTORS® Political Action Committee (2023), Hawaiʻi Association of Realtors Hall of Honor (2023) and May County Woman of Excellence – Mana Wahine (2022). She served as president of several organizations including the Realtors Association of Maui, the West Maui Community Task Force, and the Kīhei Holiday AOAO.

La Costa has been involved with various community service organizations and projects including Habitat for Humanity, the West Maui Community Task Force (formerly the West Maui Domestic Violence Task Force), and volunteering at Rotary Club events.

“Project Grad is one of my favorite things to do because I don’t have kids. I go there and check them out and set up everything for Project Grad for the big party, and then check back in,” said La Costa, who has been a volunteer with the program for the last 13 years.

La Costa will hold a launch party on Saturday morning, Jan. 31, 2026 from 10 a.m. to noon at Kahekili “Airport” Beach Park in Kāʻanapali.

*Video from Thursdayʻs press conference will be added later today.