Maui’s Pāʻele Kiakona has made history as the fifth Green Party candidate in the nation to win a state house seat, securing West Maui’s House District 14 with 41.2% of the vote following the final count.

The final results were released Tuesday night, Nov. 10, after allowing voters a chance to cure deficient ballots. Kiakona’s margin for victory widened to 119 votes following yesterday’s deadline, with an additional 12 votes logged in his favor over Democratic candidate Sne Patel and well ahead of incumbent Elle Cochran, who switched parties to run as a Republican this year.

“I am deeply honored and grateful for the chance to serve our people, but the credit belongs to our community, who made this happen. I never set out to make history, only to make change, and now the real work begins,” said Kiakona.

Kiakona was raised in Lahaina kalo patches and majored in environmental studies. He became an organizer in the Lahaina Strong community-led recovery effort after the 2023 wildfires, camping on Kāʻanapali Beach for almost six months, taking a stand for long-term housing for displaced fire survivors. 

Seeing the devastation of the Lahaina wildfire, he wanted to do more to help his community, and decided to run for office.

“I had to do something different, because I knew something different needed to be done for our home and for our community,” Kiakona said in a news release following preliminary results.

His third party campaign earned support from five of the largest labor unions, including ILWU142, Unite Here! Local 5, Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association and the Hawaiʻi Government Employees Association.

“This is a job of service to the community… This community is worth it. I would never, ever want to see what happened to Lahaina happen again. Ever. And that is honestly why I ran for office,” said Kiakona.

“Once he decided to run, he was door knocking, sign waving, and talking story throughout his district,” according to a Green Party announcement. “Pāʻele’s election victory demonstrates that when you show up for your community, your community will show up for you.”

“Pāʻele Kiakona didn’t just run; he shattered the status quo and won House District 14,” said Gloria Mattera, Green Party US. “He showed that when our candidates run boldly on protecting our land, water, and communities, voters are ready to reject the parties of war and Wall Street. This historic victory gives us the blueprint – and the momentum – to compete and win bigger offices across the country.”

According to party representatives, Kiakona ran on the Green Party’s grassroots platform, featuring four pillars that include: grassroots democracy, environmental wisdom, social justice and peace.

“Pāʻele Kiakona embodies Green Party values through his years of dedicated service to his West Maui community,” said Susan Roberts Emery, Co-Chair, Green Party Hawaiʻi. “He will represent the people of Hawaiʻi with grace and dignity as he steps forward to serve District 14.”

On Oʻahu, the Green Party touted the service of Jordan Conley, a current elected member of the ʻAiea Neighborhood Board, who ran as a Green Party candidate for US House District 1, Oʻahu. He came in third in the federal race with four candidates.

Jesse Fitzgerald, a Green Party candidate was among those in the running for House District 50, representing Kailua-Kaneʻohe. The race as won by Mike Lee who received more than 75% of the vote compared to Fitzgerald,, who garnered 15.8% of the vote.

“Congratulations to our candidates for NOT taking PAC money, while upholding our Green Party values of service to our communities, walking your talk, putting yourself out there, and stepping up for what you believe in,” said Dave Mulinix, Co-Chair, Green Party Hawaiʻi.

The Green Party Hawaiʻi released a statement saying: “We, the Green Party of Hawaiʻi, publicly affirm that the Hawaiian people never ceded their national sovereignty and have been under illegal foreign occupation since the overthrow of Queen Liliʻuokalani in 1893. We are committed to reconciliation under the Apology Resolution of 1993 (Public Law 103-150) and restoration under international law and the laws of war.”

Looking ahead Kiakona said, “We, as this community, have the tools, we have the know-how, we have the knowledge, we have the commitment, we have the will. We have the aloha… It just took somebody to be willing to do it.”