West Maui resident P. Denise La Costa announced Thursday that she intends to run for Maui County mayor. Courtesy photo

On Thursday, real estate broker and former Maui County planning commissioner P. Denise La Costa announced her candidacy for county mayor.

In announcing her intent, La Costa took aim at a bill the Maui County Council passed 5-3 on second reading Dec. 15 that will phase thousands of short-term rentals out of Maui’s apartment districts in hopes of boosting housing for residents.

La Costa called it “the biggest failure” of Maui’s current leadership and said the measure won’t help the housing crisis. Instead, she said it will lead to a slowdown of Maui’s economy, forcing small businesses to close, increasing unemployment and dividing the community.

“Bill 9 will not create housing,” she said. “It will destroy the jobs of all the small business owners whose livelihood depends upon tourism.”

La Costa, 74, moved to Maui from Washington state in 1990, and she has worked with a number of nonprofit groups, including being a founding member of the West Maui Domestic Violence Task Force.

La Costa is also the principal broker and owner of La Costa Realty Hawaii, and she served on the Maui County Planning Commission from 2018 to 2023. She has also served as the Maui County commissioner on the Hawaii Real Estate Commission and held multiple roles with the Real Estate Association of Maui.

One of La Costa’s supporters is retired state Sen. Rosalyn Baker, who introduced La Costa for Thursday’s announcement.

Baker said La Costa isn’t a knee-jerk reactionary, but is someone who is always inclusive, “pono” and considers all facets of a situation before making a decision.

“I know she will make an amazing mayor,” Baker said.

In addition to promising to work to repeal Bill 9, La Costa said she will focus on housing, water management and improving governmental processes.

“I want so badly for families to finally have a place to call home,” she said. “They need stability in their housing to be able to have stability in their lives.”

La Costa was also critical of the pace of the rebuilding effort from the 2023 Lahaina fire.

“I think nothing has been done for 29 months, and people are leaving because of it,” she said, while adding that she would work with various county agencies and stakeholders in Lahaina to revamp the building permit process and reduce approval times.

Responding to questions from the media, La Costa said she believes landowners in Lahaina should be able to rebuild their structures as they were before the fire, including those along the shoreline, provided they sign a waiver of liability.

She also said she wants to encourage the building of family-sized homes with yards, as well as duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes, and expand communities like Kai Ani Village in Kihei so more people can work where they live.

La Costa is planning a public gathering from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at Kahekili Beach Park (Airport Beach) to launch her campaign.

Individuals interested in running for office can begin the filing process to appear on the 2026 election ballot starting Feb. 2. The filing deadline is 4:30 p.m. June 2. The primary election will be Aug. 8.