Maui Election

Maui Managing Director, Kekuhaupio “Keku” Akana, will retire from the County of Maui effective Dec. 31. He was Mayor Richard Bissen’s first cabinet appointment following the 2022 elections. In deciding to retire, Akana pointed to wanting to spend more time with his ʻohana including seven grandchildren.

Last Thursday, State House Representative Troy N. Hashimoto was appointed by Governor Josh Green, M.D. to fill the Senate District 5 vacancy created by outgoing State Senator Gilbert S.C. Keith-Agaran who resigned on Oct. 31, 2023. This appointment resulted in a seat vacancy for House District 10.

Governor Josh Green, M.D. today announced Troy Hashimoto as the Senate successor to Gil Keith-Agaran, who resigned from the post effective Oct. 31. Hashimoto said he would continue to work on key areas of affordable housing, education and health care in his new capacity.

The members of the Maui County Committee’s Senate District 5 selection body – comprised of the party’s district officers who reside in Senate District 5 – have selected three names to send to Governor Josh Green for his consideration to fill the Senate vacancy created by the Oct. 31 resignation of Senator Gil Keith-Agaran.

Maui voters impacted by the August 2023 wildfires are urged to check and update their voter registration ahead of the 2024 Elections.

Senator Gilbert Keith-Agaran (District 5, Wailuku, Kahului, Waiheʻe, Waikapū Mauka, and Waiehu) issued the following statement announcing his retirement from the Hawaiʻi State Senate, effective Oct. 31, 2023.

In his address, Mayor Bissen described work by his administration in priority areas of housing, water, infrastructure, economic development, and environment. He also discussed work to find a resolution surrounding the opening of the long-awaited Kūlanihākoʻi High School in South Maui. 

Today marks day 100 of Governor Josh Green, M.D.’s administration. Gov. Green became Hawaiʻi’s ninth governor on Dec. 5, 2022.

Mayor Richard Bissen will deliver his first State of the County address at 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 21 on the front lawn of Kalana O Maui, the County Building in Wailuku.

Maui County Council on Friday night named Upcountry Council Member Yuki Lei Sugimura as council vice chairperson. Sugimura’s nomination for vice chairperson didn’t go without pushback, though. The 7-2 vote reflected opposition by council members Keani Rawlins-Fernandez and Tamara Paltin.

The decision comes in the wake of an election contest that questioned the previous county clerk’s handling of invalid ballots that had mismatched signatures and unsigned envelopes. 

Saying the plaintiffs failed to establish a viable election challenge that would “cause a difference in election results,” the Hawai’i Supreme Court decided Friday that defendant Alice Lee received the majority of the votes and has been elected to Maui County Council’s Wailuku-Waiheʻe-Waikapū seat.

The Hawai’i Supreme Court on Thursday questioned whether County of Maui officials could explain why certain ballots were deemed deficient during a county election challenge that has kept the council’s Wailuku-Waiheʻe-Waikapū seat vacant.

New US Rep. Jill Tokuda of Hawaiʻi finds “heightened urgency” surrounding issues of affordability, housing and sustainability. She says her work at the national level involves “a whole new toolbox” that provides for expanded reach. Maui Nowʻs Wendy Osher talks one-on-one with Rep. Tokuda during her visit to the Valley Isle.

Kama said the Jan. 27 meeting agenda, which will be posted Friday, will include final reading of bills that were introduced and passed on first reading last year: Bill 97, CD1 on residential zoning, Bill 160, CD1 on the Kula Agricultural Park, Bill 206 on conditional permits and Bill 207 on funding from the American Rescue Plan Act.

All six of Maui County’s State Representatives hold leadership roles in six different House Committees for the 2023 legislative session.

Maui Mayor Richard Bissen has appointed Patrick McCall to serve as director of the Department of Parks and Recreation, the County’s largest department with over 400 employees. Shane Dudoit was selected as deputy director.

Lawyers representing both sides hailed the opportunity for oral arguments in a case that questions the outcome of the Wailuku-Waiheʻe-Waikapū residency area seat race between incumbent Alice Lee and challenger Noelani Ahia.

US Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) was sworn in to a new term in the US Senate today. Schatz won reelection to a second full term last November, garnering more than 71% of the vote – the largest margin of victory by any Senate candidate in 2022.

Maui’s new Mayor Richard Bissen called for sensible spending, explained his stance as a nonpartisan, and embraced traditional knowledge in his inaugural address on Monday evening at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center’s Castle Theater.