Wildberger won’t seek reelection

State lawmaker from South Maui ready to ‘pass the baton’

South Maui Rep. Tina Wildberger announced she will not seek reelection this year, saying she was ready to pass the baton to other candidates and shift her focus to disaster preparedness.

"After careful consideration, I will not be running for re-election, nor will I seek further political office for the 2022 election cycle," Wildberger said in a statement on Monday. "When I first sought office, the pool of progressive, community-focused candidates in South Maui was non-existent. Today, we have dedicated candidates who want to serve our constituents and I am pleased to pass the baton."

The progressive Democratic lawmaker and owner of Kihei Ice Inc. was elected to the state House of Representatives in 2018 as a first-time candidate in a field that included longtime former Maui County Council Member Don Couch.

Wildberger developed a legislative interest after years of advocating for clean air on Maui back when the sugar plantation was still burning cane, which led her to chair the Maui Tomorrow Foundation's clean air committee, she told The Maui News in 2018.

In 2016 she enrolled in the inaugural class of the Hawaiian Alliance for Progressive Action's Kuleana Academy, a nonpartisan program aimed at developing political leaders. That year she also managed the campaign of Kelly King, who went on to unseat the incumbent Couch. (King announced last month that she would not seek reelection to the council but was leaving open the option of running for state office.)

Wildberger helped Keani Rawlins-Fernandez unseat incumbent Council Member Stacy Crivello in 2018 while running her own campaign for the state House, emerging from a three-candidate Democratic primary to win the seat.

She told The Maui News in 2018 that she decided to run because she couldn't stand idly by and watch "the systematic dismantling of our democracy."

As a first-term legislator, Wildberger introduced bills that included a proposed statewide polystyrene ban, legalizing adult use of cannabis and increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2022 -- pledging in 2020 along with another state lawmaker to donate $4,000 of her annual salary to charity until the minimum wage was increased to at least $15 an hour. (While similar measures have fallen short in recent years, state lawmakers are now considering a bill that would up the rate to $18 an hour by 2026.)

In 2020, Wildberger defended her seat against Couch in the Democratic primary and beat the Aloha Aina Party's Howard Greenberg in the general election. During her second term she served on the Government Reform, Pandemic and Disaster Preparedness, and Finance committees and joined the new Progressive Legislative Caucus formed in 2021.

The lawmaker pointed to her office's 18-month effort directing a team of community volunteers to complete South Maui's Hawaii Hazards Awareness and Resilience Program certification.

"I look forward to helping my successor continue the important work of keeping that certification current," Wildberger said in her statement Monday. "It is crucial to develop relief relationships before a disaster strikes."

In an email to The Maui News on Tuesday, Wildberger said she may pursue a master's degree in disaster preparedness with Georgetown and is also interested in developing a Pacific Rim relationship with Jose Andres' World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit that provides meals to people to humanitarian, climate and community crises, according to its website.

"My interests lie in doing this kind of work," Wildberger said.

When asked if there were any candidates she planned to endorse, Wildberger responded, "We have good candidates that want to run, so this is a good time to pass the baton. Once candidates file for various offices, I will weigh in on various races and decide where my efforts will be focused."

As of Tuesday, no candidates had pulled papers for District 11, which covers Kihei, Wailea and Makena, according to the latest state Office of Elections report. The filing deadline for the 2022 elections is June 7.

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