2010 elections part of Paniolo Parade

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WAILUKU - It's more than a year before the next round of Maui County elections, but former Mayor Alan Arakawa isn't waiting any longer.

In an interview with The Maui News on Friday, Arakawa said he will make an unofficial announcement today at the 44th annual Paniolo Parade in Makawao that he will run for mayor in 2010.

The one-term mayor, who lost his re-election bid in 2006 to then-Council Member Charmaine Tavares by 1,751 votes, said it's time to erase Maui's worldwide anti-business stigma.

"I've been asked by literally hundreds of people to run again," Arakawa said. "We're not looking at criticizing the mayor. I just think we can do a better job than what's being done now."

Arakawa said he will march today in the parade with about 30 supporters under the theme "Getting Maui Back on Track." Arakawa said his campaign fundraising committee never disbanded, but he can't make his run official until the first week of February.

Beginning Feb. 1, candidates can check out nomination papers. The filing deadline for candidates is July 20, 2010.

The former mayor said that Tavares has ignored key economic development opportunities during this recession. Issues such as short-term rentals, allowing for home businesses entrepreneurial growth and moving forward with stagnant construction projects have all withered under her administration, he said. Most recently, the Tavares administration put forth rules to regulate commercial ocean recreation activities at county beach parks. Activity operators oppose them and say they'll hurt business.

Contacted Friday evening, Tavares said she wasn't surprised that Arakawa wants to unseat her because he has maintained a high public profile. But Tavares said that she thought it would be "totally inappropriate" for Arakawa to make his announcement during a community event like today's parade.

"I don't think it's the place for these political antics," she said.

Tavares also took issue with Arakawa's comment about her administration's crackdown on transient vacation rentals.

"We got into this mess because he refused to uphold the law," she said, referring to the county's former practice of allowing illegal vacation rental businesses to operate while rules to regulate them were being drafted. "We are not elected . . . to pick and choose which laws we want to enforce."

Tavares said that Maui's economy is not struggling because of her administration's actions with vacation rentals, bed-and-breakfast operators or ocean recreation activity businesses.

"In case he hasn't noticed, our economy is in a slump because we don't have visitors here," she said, adding that to blame her administration for the county's economic slump is "ridiculous."

The 2010 mayor's race will not be the only political contest to surface at today's parade.

Political rookie and lifelong Lahaina resident Elle Cochran, 44, will make her debut at the parade as the first candidate to announce an intention to run for the Maui County Council's West Maui residency seat, now held by Jo Anne Johnson.

Cochran said that she knows it will take a lot of parades, fundraisers, public meetings and door knocking to get her name out there if she expects a serious shot at succeeding Johnson, who can't seek re-election because of term limits.

Johnson has said that she is looking forward to a break from politics to care for her ailing husband.

So far, no one else has announced that they will seek the West Maui seat. But the field is expected to be crowded without an incumbent.

Cochran is not unknown, especially in West Maui where she was one of the founders of the Save Honolua Coalition three years ago with her husband, surfboard shaper and shop owner, Wayne Cochran. She also is a founding member of Faith Action for Community Equity (FACE) Maui, and she is on the board of three other nonprofits and volunteers for a dozen more.

Cochran, a part-time hotel worker, also hosts her own show for the nonprofit cultural preservation group Maui Unite! on Akaku: Maui Community Television.

Cochran said that she and her husband "live off the grid" in Honolua, even collecting their water with rainfall catchment systems. She said she wants to take advantage of tourism's lull to promote other economic engines here while speaking for everyday people, not the powerful and wealthy, she said.

"I've always been real active in the community, and I just feel like it's time to go to the next level where the decisions are really made," Cochran said.

One of Cochran's top issues will be sustainable practices, such as increased local farming and water and land preservation, she said.

She's got the support of Johnson, who often said that the Save Honolua volunteers are "her people." Johnson is listed as a reference for Cochran and although she hasn't officially endorsed Cochran, the County Council veteran plans to allow her to shadow her in order to learn the ropes.

Cochran acknowledges that one major obstacle to her candidacy is her lack of name recognition, a problem in a race that's expected to be crowded. She said that she hopes her early start will help gain her an edge on other candidates.

Maui Unite! board member Pam Daoust said that Cochran has a unique ability. While Cochran feels passionately about the environment and cultural preservation, she's still able to respectfully consider opposing viewpoints, she said.

"I think she will be very responsive to people and cares deeply about Maui," Daoust said. "She really cares about housing, nature and preservation of the marine and cultural environment."

* Chris Hamilton can be reached at chamilton@mauinews.com.