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Maui voters were favoring County Council incumbents in the first general election since deadly wildfires consumed nearly all of Lahaina and parts of Upcountry, but one pivotal race was extremely tight when the unofficial final results were reported Wednesday morning.

In the South Maui district, incumbent Tom Cook defeated former Councilwoman Kelly King, 41.6% to 41.4%. Just 117 votes separated them. A automatic recount would not be triggered unless the separation was 100 votes or less.

The race to represent Kihei, Maalaea and Wailea was expected to have palpable consequences for all of Maui County over the next two years because a King victory would have tipped the balance of power. Cook generally sides with the more conservative-leaning faction on the council.

The nine-member body has major issues it plans to take up next year, including the rebuilding of the historic West Maui town and Mayor Richard Bissen’s proposal to turn roughly 7,000 short-term vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Voters were also on track to pass two of the three county charter amendments on the ballot, which dealt with the Salary Commission, term limits and an independent staff for the Board of Ethics.

Cook faced King in 2020 as well but lost that election with 35.6% of the votes to King’s 47.7%.

He has been considered a pivotal pro-development council member since last election. With the other eight incumbents appearing to retain their seats, his win would consolidate a more pro-development majority of five that also includes Alice Lee, Yuki Lei Sugimura, Nohelani U’u-Hodgins and Tasha Kama. Their campaigns were heavily funded by construction industry donations.

After serving three terms on the council, King gave up her seat in 2022 for an unsuccessful mayoral race.

Cook said Wednesday morning that his victory means balancing the need for “obtainable housing” for local residents with Maui’s need for sustainability.

“The over 900 students graduating from our high schools each year need to believe they have a chance to stay in Hawaii and raise their children,” Cook said. “I look forward to hearing from our residents, their ideas and concerns. I believe in Maui’s sustainable future.”

King had said Tuesday night before results were released that a victory for her would mean greater focus on affordable housing, with hotels and resorts going to the bottom of her priority list.

Sugimura easily retained her Upcountry seat with 50%. Her opponent, Jocelyn Cruz, running for the first time, had 28.9%. This will be Sugimura’s fifth consecutive term.

Councilwoman Nohelani U‘u-Hodgins and challenger Nara Boone faced each other for the second election in a row. U‘u-Hodgins won again to represent Makawao, Haiku and Paia for the next two years. She had 43.7% to Boone’s 34.2%.

West Maui incumbent Tamara Paltin was in line to win her fourth consecutive term. She had 54.1% in a race against first-time candidate and Lahaina businessman Lorien Acquintas, who had 23.1%.

Council Chair Alice Lee, who was first elected to represent Central Maui in 2018, was defeating opponent James Forrest to secure her fourth term. Lee had 44.5% while Forrest had 35.2%.

Incumbent Tasha Kama, of the Kahului district, was also on track to serve a fourth consecutive term. She had 43.3% while challenger Carol Lee Kamekona had 34.8%. They faced each other in 2020 as well, with Kama winning.

Molokai’s Keani Rawlins-Fernandez is headed for a fourth consecutive term. She first ran for office in 2016, when she lost to then-incumbent Stacy Crivello. But when they faced each other in the following three elections, it was Rawlins-Fernandez who came out on top. This year, her opponent was John Pele, who had 33%. Rawlins-Fernandez had 42.8%.

Gabe Johnson, representing Lanai, ran unopposed to head into his third consecutive term. He had lost in 2016 and 2018 against then-incumbent Riki Hokama, but won his seat in 2020 against Alberta De Jetley. In 2022, Johnson was re-elected after defeating Hokama.

Hana’s Shane Sinenci also ran unopposed. He first ran for office in 2016, when he lost against then-incumbent Bob Carroll, who had been in office since 2010. When Carroll retired in 2018, his daughter Claire Carroll ran for Hana’s seat. Sinenci defeated her that year and again in 2020 and 2022. He is now entering his fourth term.

Council candidates must reside in the district they represent, but all voters countywide can cast ballots in all races.

The council will deal with many issues that already haunted Maui before the 2023 wildfires and were only augmented by the disaster.

Perhaps the main issue currently affecting Maui is the lack of affordable housing, also a statewide priority. On Maui, the issue is compounded by last year’s deadly and costly wildfires, but also by hundreds of proposed high-end homes that threaten to take scarce and vital infrastructure residents say should be saved for affordable housing.

Residents also want more protection from wildfires, including more and better escape routes, something that becomes increasingly more difficult in places with already limited exit paths and that are slated for more development, such as South Maui.

A primary focal point of the next council will likely still be West Maui. As Lahaina begins its long road to recovery, the government will be expanding sewer coverage. A recycled water project will free additional potable water for residents. And there is still a question of who will benefit from this project. Safety issues also worry residents rebuilding their homes in uninhabited burned zones without proper public illumination.

The council started a discussion last week on a proposed hospital and a large affordable housing project, both in West Maui.

Bissen’s proposal to convert roughly 7,000 short-term rentals into long-term rentals is also a monumental and difficult task ahead of the council. There are many legal questions related to the proposal, and the mayor’s team has indicated it will consider it a victory even if it can convert only a few hundred units.

Another important and controversial topic for the next council is how the government will deal with Maui’s homeless population. A recent Hawaii Supreme Court decision against the former administration set the tone for a proposal still in the works to establish legal procedures for sweeps in homeless encampments.

Maui Charter Amendments

Maui voters cast ballots on three charter amendments.

One amendment proposed cleaning up language related to the responsibilities of the county Salary Commission to make it consistent with the state’s and other counties’ salary commissions. It changed the commission’s authority to set “salaries,” instead of “compensation,” for elected officials and county department heads and deputies. Voters supported the amendment with 58.5% for it, and 25.3% against it. There were 16.2% blank votes.

Another amendment proposed funding staff for the county Board of Ethics, with the purpose of having a more efficient and independent body that could better prevent and investigate ethics violations. This would likely involve the hirinbg three initial staff members, including an executive director, a secretary and an investigator. Voters were in favor of this with 57.6% votes for it, and 26.7% against it. There were 15.6% blank votes.

The last amendment sought to reduce the high rate of vacancies across the county’s boards and commissions.

Generally, boards and commission members are allowed to serve up to five years before having to step aside for two years before possibly returninbg. This proposal asked voters if board and commission members could be allowed to serve two five-year consecutive terms or a total of 10 years. Voters opposed this amendment with 43.1% against it and 40% for it. There were 16.8% blank votes.

Civil Beat’s coverage of Maui County is supported in part by a grant from the Nuestro Futuro Foundation.