#Aileen Acain

By virtue of being uncontested, Maui County Council Members Shane Sinenci of East Maui and Gabe Johnson of Lāna‘i will be re-elected to their respective seats this year. Central Maui Sen. Troy Hashimoto is also uncontested for his 5th District Senate seat, and District 9 Rep. Justin Woodson has no opponent to stand in the way of his return to the state House of Representatives.

With a June 4 deadline just a week away, there’s been a flurry of activity in the past three weeks by candidates seeking Maui County political offices, with several checking out and/or filing their official nomination papers.

Two candidates for public office are testing political waters and saying they aim to help address Maui’s housing crisis, especially in the wake of the August wildfires.

Since early February, five new candidates have checked out nomination papers from the Hawaiʻi Office of Elections for Maui County Council seats.

Candidates for public offices are beginning to check out and file nomination papers, according to the Hawaiʻi Office of Elections’ candidate filing report.