Mayoral candidate P. Denise La Costa said thefts of her election signs have been happening in parts of Maui, including this one once hung along Lower Main Street in Wailuku. Photo courtesy P. Denise La Costa

Maui County Mayoral candidate P. Denise La Costa said more than 18 of her political election signs have been stolen in the past few weeks.

“I hang the signs, and the next thing I know, they’re gone,” La Costa said.

La Costa said signs have been taken from locations in Lahaina, Wailuku and Maui Meadows over the past few weeks.

La Costa said she received permission from landowners before posting signs on their properties and does not believe the property owners removed them.

She estimated the missing signs are worth close to $800, not including the time and labor needed to post them.

“It’s so sad. We’re supposed to be sharing aloha here,” she said. “Even if you don’t agree with someone, you don’t take their personal property.”

La Costa said all four of her banner signs in Lahaina were taken, along with five yard signs in Maui Meadows. Along Lower Main Street in Wailuku, she said three banners and four yard signs have been taken.

La Costa, who moved from Washington state to Maui in 1990, has worked with nonprofit groups, including a domestic violence community task force in West Maui. She also works as a real estate broker and has served as chair of the Maui Planning Commission.

La Costa is among the candidates running for Maui County mayor in the 2026 election.