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Members ready to do ‘people’s work’

Maui County Council sworn in

By Colleen Uechi 4 min read

WAILUKU -- Monday morning's inauguration of the new Maui County Council was "the easy part," but now it's time to get down to business, council members said following the celebration.

Council Chambers in the Kalana O Maui building were filled to the brim with friends, family and eager onlookers during the swearing-in ceremony of the council's nine members.

"The ceremonial stuff is great. But truthfully this is the easy part," said Kelly King, who holds the South Maui residency seat. "What weighs on my mind is all the work that needs to be done. So I'm looking forward to that. I've already started diving in."

Council members for the 2017-19 term and their residency seats are: Bob Carroll, East Maui; Stacy Crivello, Molokai; Alika Atay, Wailuku-Waihee-Waikapu; Yuki Lei Sugimura, Upcountry; Elle Cochran, West Maui; Riki Hokama, Lanai; Don Guzman, Kahului; King, South Maui; and Mike White, Makawao-Haiku-Paia.

Atay, King and Sugimura are all beginning their first terms on the council.

"Now the work truly begins," Sugimura said. "My main thing is housing. I want to help Upcountry with their water meter list but I've been saying through the campaign affordable housing. We need to provide for working families."

Atay said that before the council could dive into new legislation, it first had to establish a sense of trust and unity among members.

"First, we need to get to a level of understanding and collaboration so that we can work together for the people," Atay said. "That's the first phase.  . . . After that, the issues, I think it all just depends on time and place, looking at issues in every department and how we can assist to make this county government function better."

Dispute has arisen amongst council members over who will lead the council. On Nov. 11, White announced that he would continue as chairman and that Carroll would serve as vice chairman.

Residents and local organizations protested the announcement, saying it was a violation of the County Charter and Sunshine Law for members to have decided on its leadership before the council's first meeting.

Cochran said that she thought the issue put a pall over the fanfare and excitement over Monday's inauguration.

"There's been a lot of friction. I felt it during the inauguration," Cochran said. "I've never felt any inauguration like it. There was a thickness in the air. It wasn't as celebratory."

Council members said they want to see the body come together and get over leadership disputes.

"I'm just looking for that to be addressed and then put behind us, and then we all unite together . . . so that we can do the people's work once again," Atay said.

Carroll said he thought that "the new council is actually a good cross section" of members from the community.

"The bottom line is that, when all the dust settles, everybody votes their mind," Carroll said. "If what you propose has merit, usually the other members are going to vote for it. It doesn't matter who you are."

Guest speaker and state Senate President Ronald Kouchi, a former Kauai County Council member, encouraged members of the Maui County Council to, when times get tough, think about why they ran for office in the first place.

"I'm pretty sure I know why each and every one of the nine of you ran," Kouchi said. "Because you love where you come from. You want to make this the best place on Earth. . . . When you come to a hard spot, reflect back about why you ran, and it was to build and create a better Maui . . . and not to tear things down and not to blow things up."

Kouchi also assured Maui residents that the state Legislature will keep an eye on Maui's former sugar lands and would work with the county "to make sure that the Central Maui plains continue to be productive." He also said that the Legislature will monitor the upcoming privatization of Maui County's three quasi-public hospitals, due to take place July 1.

"The most important message I want to say is the state Senate will do everything in our power to ensure that your community gets the quality health care that you deserve," Kouchi said.

* Colleen Uechi can be reached at cuechi@mauinews.com.

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