BEST OF MAUI 2016: Best Maui Politics, Community and Environment Revealed
Here are the top voted choices for politics and the environment on Maui. We asked you Maui, what politics, what issues are important, and who the top community leaders were on Maui, and you responded with your votes. We tallied up all of your votes and posted them right here. Read on for who you voted Best County Official, Best State Blunder, things like that.
BEST STATE BLUNDER
David Ige
Damn, our readers are harsh! Ige’s not so bad–at least, he hasn’t done anything egregious in the last year, that we can tell (his nominating Castle & Cooke lobbyist Carleton Ching to chair the Board of Land and Natural Resources was over a year ago, and that predictably fell through and led to the eminently qualified Suzanne Case getting the post). And Ige’s signing of House Bill 2501, which lets Alexander & Baldwin continue to divert East Maui water even though they’re closing HC&S this year and this happened AFTER we tallied up all the votes. So we have no idea what our readers are talking about. (AP)
DAVID IGE 29%
LAHINA BYPASS 11%
SUPERFERRY 5%
BEST COUNTY OFFICIAL
Elle Cochran
For the, I don’t know, umpteenth time in a row, MauiTime readers have chosen Maui County Councilmember Elle Cochran, who represents the Westside, as their favorite county official. She helped found the Save Honolua Coalition, and has long advocated pro-environmental and slow-growth policies. Back in her 2014 reelection campaign, facing an opponent with solid financial backing from big development interests (that would be Ka‘ala Buenconsejo, who got himself named director of the county’s Parks Department after his defeat), Cochran still won handily. MauiTime readers have longed loved Cochran, so this latest win comes as no surprise. (AP)
ELLE COCHRAN 34%
ALAN ARAKAWA 24%
KAALA BUENCONSEJO 17%
BEST POLITICAL ACTIVIST
Summer Starr
Last year our readers said Summer Starr exemplifies their ideal Maui political activist, and nothing seems to have changed their minds this year. She holds a master’s degree in indigenous politics from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and another master’s degree in environmental law and policy from Vermont Law School. She’s long been active in the fight over agricultural policy and genetically modified organisms, which our readers feel is pretty important. (AP)
SUMMER STARR 26%
TIARE LAWRENCE 24%
KAREN CHUN 5%
BEST COUNTY BLUNDER
Homeless at Kanaha
“In the long-run, providing supportive housing actually saves more money for the taxpayer – roughly 50 percent–when compared to the cost for the homeless to remain on the streets where they use our public services–our police, fire, emergency rooms and courtrooms–at a very high frequency,” Maui County Mayor Alan Arakawa said in his State of the County Address back in March. “Also, the housing units we are recommending will make it safer for our non-profit and social service workers to visit and provide services to these individuals. Often times we hear that workers have to deal with dogs, darkly lit camps, drug use and other obstacles to an already challenging situation.” Yep, yep and yep. Plans, programs and initiatives abound when talking about how the County of Maui is addressing its homeless population (about 1,145 people, according to a recent report). And yet, Kanaha Beach Park remains a large homeless encampment. This isn’t a blunder, it’s a disaster. (AP)
(Kanaha Beach Park, Kahului)
HOMELESS AT KANAHA 20%
CANE BURNING 8%
HC&S 5%
BEST ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE
GMOs
Monsanto’s growing of genetically modified corn in South Maui and Molokai is probably the most divisive political issue today in Maui County. It led directly to a historic ballot measure in 2014, that scooped up huge numbers of votes, both pro and con (the pro side won, though the fight continues to this day in the courts). Since the battle over genetically modified food continues to bitterly divide the world–science-friendly folks who see GMOs as both a solution to hunger and famine as well as a lucrative enterprise versus those who oppose big business and any tampering with DNA–there’s no reason to think this issue will leave Maui County any time soon. (AP)
GMO 15%
MONSANTO 10%
CANE BURNING 8%
BEST COMMUNITY NON-PROFIT
Lahaina Arts Association
Well established throughout the county’s arts scene, this organization “provides thirteen weekly, skills-based art classes for children, a Hawaiian Youth Mentoring Program, and an Annual High School Art Competition, Exhibition and Scholarship Awards Program,” according to their website. “Classes began at the Banyan Tree and Old Jail Galleries in Lahaina in the 1970s. When it was identified that many of our youth had trouble accessing the classes, they were relocated to accessible sites in public housing, public schools, and youth centers throughout Maui County.” It came as no surprise to us that the LAA is so popular with MauiTime readers. (AP)
(648 Wharf St., Lahaina); 808-661-0111; Lahainaarts.com
LAHAINA ART ASSOCIATION 10%
HAWAII ANIMAL RESCUE FOUNDATION 8%
WOMEN HELPING WOMEN 7%
BEST ENVIRONMENTAL NON-PROFIT
Shaka Movement
Oh, how our readers love the Shaka Movement. After all, they did deliver Maui County’s first-ever citizen-inspired ballot measure, which they also won. Though that measure, which seeks to halt all GMO agriculture in the county, was initially thrown out of court, the matter remains on appeal. Shaka’s a powerful movement in Maui County, and our readers definitely support them. (AP)
SHAKA MOVEMENT 16%
SURFRIDER FOUNDATION 13%
PACIFIC WHALE FOUNDATION 9%
BEST POLITICAL SCANDAL
Alan Arakawa
Alan Arakawa is a highly intelligent and experienced mayor. He’s held a variety of jobs in the County of Maui, both administrative and legislative, over the last few decades. Though’s he only half responsible for the current mayoral-County Council war that grips our local government (Council Chairperson Mike White has exhibited his own intransigence), Arakawa holds a view of power and elected responsibility that’s both popular among officials and loathsome. “I’ve had the mayor tell me, straight to my face, ‘It’s not about you. It’s about me,’” Managing Director Keith Regan told then-Maui County Film Commissioner Harry Donnenfeld back in 2013, according to an audio recording Donnenfeld made of the encounter that only came to light last year. Some of us hold a different view–that an office like the Mayor as being all about the citizens of the county, and not the person currently holding the job. Our readers, it would seem, agree. (AP)
Co.maui.hi.us/1894/Office-of-the-Mayor
ALAN ARAKAWA 36%
MONSANTO 15%
MAUI PD 3%
BEST SCARIEST PUBLIC FIGURE
Donald Trump
Donald Trump isn’t a Maui County official (thank the universe) but since we didn’t specify that in our ballot, we can’t really complain about our readers’ responses. And yeah, Trump is scary! He’s like Darth Vader without the charisma, or Montgomery Burns without the business acumen. He’s a racist, nativist, sexist, ignorant, spoiled little baby who lies pretty much every time he opens his mouth, which happens OFTEN. Why the Republican Party nominated this oranged-haired, small-handed freak to be their presidential candidate will be one of the great questions of the 21st century.
DONALD TRUMP 38%
ALAN ARAKAWA 21%
RIKI HOKAMA 6%
BEST TOWN TO LIVE IN
KIHEI
Out of all the great towns that Maui has to offer, Kihei is the proud winner of the Best Town To Live In. Kihei has a laundry list of fantastic restaurants, Oceanside views, and activities to entertain people of all ages. It is impossible to get bored in Kihei. Whether you want to have fun on a Friday night or take it easy in the backyard, Kihei is the place to do it. There is no other place in Maui that I would rather live. (JF)
KIHEI 29%
LAHAINA 20%
HAIKU 12%
BEST TOWN TO VISIT
Paia
Paia, Maui’s magical melting pot of surfers, hippies and a couple dentists. In other words: Paia is where the groovy and sophisticated hang out. Paia is a diverse conglomeration of mouthwatering restaurants, refined and selective stores, and relatively close beach access. So if you happen to be close to Paia, you should really consider visiting it because it really is quite rad. (SBM)
PAIA 24%
LAHAINA 22%
HANA 21%
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