All seven of Maui County’s mayoral candidates participated in an election forum Wednesday night, sponsored by the Kula Community Association at the Kula Community Center. Shown are (from left) Mike Victorino, Laurent Zahnd, Beau Hawkes, Elle Cochran, moderator Dick Mayer, Ori Kopelman, Alec Hawley and Don Guzman. The Maui News / MELISSA TANJI photo

KULA — All seven Maui County mayoral candidates, ranging from those with political experience and those without, touted their strengths and shared their concerns and vision for the county at one of the island’s larger political forums Wednesday night sponsored and moderated by the Kula Community Association.

The race to replace Mayor Alan Arakawa, who is term-limited, is led by current County Council Members Elle Cochran and Don Guzman and former Council Member Mike Victorino. Other candidates are Beau Hawkes, Alec Hawley, Ori Kopelman and Laurent Zahnd. All will face off in the primary election on Aug. 11, with the top two vote-getters advancing to the general election on Nov. 6.

At the Kula Community Center with about 100 people in attendance, mayoral candidates were asked how they could manage an $800 million annual county budget and more than 2,000 employees with none having the administrative experience for the large responsibility.

Cochran, who currently holds the West Maui residency seat, said she wasn’t going to say she has a lack of experience but said she would be “doing it differently.” She would empower the 2,600 county employees.

“I feel they are the people in the trenches, they are doing the day-to-day work and they know better than anyone else how to improve, do their work efficiently and more productively,” Cochran said. “They can explain what tools they need in order to accomplish that. So it’s about communication, it’s about empowering the people already doing the job, and that doesn’t (need to) come with experience.”

As for managing the nearly billion-dollar budget, Cochran, who has been on the council since 2010, said she has been through eight budget cycles as a council member. She feels that the budget does not need to grow anymore, but funding needs to be prioritized.

Guzman, a council member since 2012, touted his legal and legislative experience. An attorney, Guzman was a county deputy prosecutor and a supervisor for attorneys at the District Court level and for the Domestic Violence Unit for the Office of the Prosecutor. He also served as a congressional and state House staffer.

Guzman, who holds the Kahului residency seat, said his style of leadership focuses on motivating others.

“If you can motivate them to get the job done and as well making sure you are the role model, and you are acting in a professional manner you will attract professionalism in the industry,” said Guzman. “What we need now in Maui County is professionals that come into work and do the job and do it well.”

Guzman discussed the qualities he would bring to the job.

“I’m not saying that I’m the best candidate beyond a doubt, but I will tell you this much, I will work the hardest among all the candidates here,” he said. “I will put my heart and soul and all my skills, all my experience behind it to find the very best and qualified individuals to work under my administration.”

Victorino pointed to his experiences working at major corporations, including McDonald’s and Zales.

“I’m also probably the only person in the room who has a degree in hamburgerology. Not something you get easily, you have to work for McDonald’s for a number of years to even attend the Hamburger U (University),” said Victorino.

He has managed and worked in small businesses throughout the community and has been a member of and leader on various county and state boards and commissions, including the state Board of Education and the county Board of Water Supply.

He has been involved in the community as well, coaching sports, serving as the executive director of the Maui Fair, and being a member of the Knights of Columbus and other organizations.

Victorino held the Wailuku-Waihee-Waikapu residency seat from 2007 to 2016 and left the council because of term limits.

“I’ve always worked hard, I’ve always brought people together,” he said.

“Maui is at a crossroads,” Victorino said later. “We need a leader that has experience, knowledge and able to hit the ground running.”

There would be no cronyism in his Cabinet; Victorino pledged to “look for the best” to “do the work of the people.”

Another question posed to the candidates focused on the establishment of the Office of Managing Director. The professional manager, who would operate independent of politics, would handle county operations and supervise department directors. The proposal would require an amendment to the County Charter. Currently, a proposed amendment sits in the council’s Policy, Economic Development and Agriculture Committee.

Cochran supports the proposed amendment and said she has researched the idea and queried other municipalities operating with a county manager. The reviews of the county manager system have been positive and, she feels Maui should join the club.

“It’s about taking the political favors per say out of the management of this county,” she said.

Department heads would be hired for their qualifications.

“It’s not about how much money you put in that campaign, how hard you work that campaign,” she said. “It’s about doing the job.”

Guzman said he supports the amendment’s intent but cannot support the current amendment because it contains some flaws. For one, the proposed amendment, as written, usurps the power of the mayor, ranging from budgetary to the executive decisions, he said.

“There is no wording in there that actually says, in black and white, the managing director reports to the mayor. Until that is solved, where you can say the managing director is completely subordinate to the mayor, you are talking about a managing director that has full control,” Guzman said.

He pointed out that state statutes lack the legal language that would allow a different form of government aside from a mayoral system. The proposed amendment should be reviewed by the state attorney general’s office, Guzman said.

Victorino did not say whether he supported the proposed amendment, choosing instead to lay out the pros and cons.

He said that in the last election cycle, voters gave the County Council more authority over the hiring of county directors. The council must approve most of the department directors appointed by the mayor.

“Approving (most) of the directors was a means of the council of at least having a shot at the different directors who were being appointed by the mayor,” he said. “I didn’t think that was a real bad idea, that was the checks and balances.”

The council also must decide, sometimes, whether the mayor can fire a director, as in the case of water Director David Taylor. Arakawa sought to fire Taylor but the council denied his request. More than a half-year later, Taylor remains on a paid leave.

Victorino said the system has not worked well in the Taylor case.

He concurred with Guzman on the conflict with state law and feels the Legislature should be queried about whether a county manager type of government is permitted.

On the other hand, Victorino said he doesn’t like the mass change in leadership and lack of continuity when a new mayoral administration takes over. Under the county manager scenario, the manager and department heads would continue to run the county regardless of the election of a new mayor.

Under any county manager proposal, the manager and the mayor should work in tandem, he said.

“I encourage you to look at this whole process and make your thoughts known so that we do it right,” Victorino said.

* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.