Maui County votes this fall. Here is what you need to know.

Signed the bill. Said short-term rentals make up 21% of Maui's housing, that the buildings were always zoned apartment, and that it passed three planning commissions and the council.

“If we can get a few thousand homes out of this bill, that will help us keep our people home. It's a direct link. You cannot say that you are for local folks and local housing and oppose Bill 9.”

Voted against it. Said the units cost more than local families can carry, are mostly one-bedroom, and that the county was warned of lawsuits for taking away an existing use.

“I believe in building houses, not taking away houses to give to somebody else.”

Said the county has cleared the Pulehu Road area 25 times, removing ten tons of debris and 56 abandoned cars, and that it offers shelter and services that are not always accepted. Called it an issue to manage with compassion and accountability.

“It's not a crime to be homeless, and we do offer services. We offer shelter. We offer housing. It doesn't always get accepted.”

Said she has a council resolution asking the administration to act on the Pulehu Road and Hansen Road encampments, that a funded safe-parking ordinance has not been carried out, and that parking is not enough.

“We need to do more than safe parking. We need to find homes for these people.”

Said the county should own and manage its water like every other county in Hawaiʻi, and is in talks on the Wailuku Water Company, Maui Land and Pineapple, and Molokaʻi Ranch systems.

“West Maui would control 93% of the drinking water in West Maui. We currently have 45% control.”

Voted to fund the Olowalu and Launiupoko purchases. Said the test for any purchase is reliability, capacity, cost, and efficiency, and asked for a master plan before more.

“Water is a public trust. You don't own water. It is for everybody.”

Said 577 homes are rebuilt, that of 36 buildable Front Street lots 14 have permits at some stage, and that only the state can approve building on the ocean side.

“Government can never be fast enough.”

Said commercial and residential rebuilding should have moved at the same time, that she would use emergency proclamation powers to get it done, and that no commercial building permit has been issued.

“I don't know of a single commercial property owner that has a building permit.”

Said a home permit now takes about 45 days and he wants that countywide, and that the permitting rules themselves are set by the council.

“I can't waive SHPD. I don't know of any mayor who can, since that's a requirement by the state.”

Said she would open a permitting help center in the mayor's office and wants the county to be, in her words, a county of yes.

“I want to figure out what we can do better with permitting, which I think we're the worst in the state right now for permitting.”

Said the county's emergency agency has grown from nine staff to 31, with a new operations center, smoke-detecting cameras, and evacuation zones by grid.

“Our emergency management agency has gone from nine members to 31. ... We are better today than we were in 2023.”

Said the county can do more, and questioned whether the new emergency management center was open in time for the last emergency.

“I think that there may be a new Maui emergency management office or the center. I don't think it was open yet for the last emergency that we had.”