Inside Maui’s endorsement process: Business, labor and politics
Business groups, labor unions and political organizations use different approaches to decide which candidates to support
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In Maui County, business associations, political action committees and labor unions have lined up behind candidates ahead of the Nov. 3 general election. Their endorsements offer a glimpse of the organizations and interests supporting local candidates -- and perhaps the priorities they hope elected officials will advance.
But an endorsement is more than a name on a campaign website. Organizations use different methods to evaluate candidates, from questionnaires and interviews to reviews of voting records and personal relationships. Many also provide financial support, adding another dimension to their role in local elections.
While the candidates' endorsements offer a snapshot of support in the mayoral race, the process behind those decisions varies among organizations.
The Maui Chamber of Commerce's Political Action Committee, known as COMPAC, uses a structured process to determine which candidates align with the Chamber's priorities.
The committee contacts candidates before the primary election. Incumbents may be evaluated based on their records, while challengers are evaluated based on their character. Both groups are asked to complete questionnaires. After the primary, candidates who advance to the general election and respond to the committee's outreach are invited to Zoom interviews about the Chamber's positions, priorities and current issues. Candidates running unopposed in the general election are not interviewed.
COMPAC considers candidates' positions on business issues, proposed solutions, experience and ability to work with the Chamber. Candidates must meet a minimum score on the required questionnaire to be considered for an endorsement, and the committee can still decide not to endorse a candidate through the process.
Maui County Council Vice Chair and mayoral candidate Yuki Lei Sugimura (center) is joined by members of the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers, which has endorsed her campaign for mayor. Pictured (from left) are Sgt. David Jakubczak, Officer Tazminey Cremer-Ka'alakea, Officer Anthony Campos, Sgt. Kenneth Carroll, Sugimura, Sgt. Stafford Caparida, Officer Max Kincaid and Officer Josiah Maglente-Tonu. Photo courtesy Yuki Lei Sugimura campaign
The committee endorsed Sugimura for mayor, citing priorities that include economic recovery, attainable housing, small-business support and permitting reform.
"As our community continues to face critical challenges including the need for attainable housing and rentals, economic recovery and diversification, small business support, permitting reform, and more, the decisions made by our elected leaders will have a lasting impact on our residents, businesses, resiliency and quality of life," " Maui Chamber President Pamela Tumpap said.
While COMPAC evaluates candidates against the Chamber's business priorities, the Maui Hotel & Lodging Association's political action committee uses its own criteria to select candidates for endorsement.
The association's executive director, John Pele, said candidates who seek an endorsement are evaluated through questionnaires and meetings. The association's board of directors and PAC committee make the final decisions, considering whether candidates' policy positions align with MHLA's published legislative priorities.
Those priorities include expanding workforce housing, supporting local businesses and economic diversification, protecting natural resources, improving water infrastructure and promoting sustainable tourism. The association also supports policies involving visitor management, transportation, public spaces and funding for tourism-related infrastructure.
MHLA has endorsed incumbent Mayor Richard Bissen for re-election, citing his understanding of tourism's importance to Maui's economy.
"It is essential to choose effective leaders who influence policy for the best health of the community," Pele said in the association's announcement. "These candidates have shown they understand how important the tourism industry is for Maui's economy."
The association also provides opportunities for members and candidates to discuss policy positions at membership mixers. Pele said MHLA evaluates candidates' policy priorities but declined to share candidate questionnaires, internal deliberations, PAC meeting records or voting results, describing those materials as confidential.
Pele confirmed that MHLA's PAC provides financial contributions to candidates in addition to endorsements and directed questions about those contributions to filings with the Hawaii Campaign Spending Commission.
An endorsement and a financial contribution are different forms of political support. An endorsement publicly signals an organization's backing, while campaign-finance filings document reported contributions and spending.
Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen (fourth from left) joins representatives of Operating Engineers Local Union No. 3, which has endorsed his campaign for re-election. The union announced its support for Bissen in the Maui County mayoral race. Photo courtesy Bissen 2026 campaign
Labor unions also use their own criteria to decide which candidates to support. Tony Murray, a consultant for International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1260, said the union considers candidates' values, character, voting records and relationships with their communities.
The union tries to meet with candidates when possible, Murray said, although evaluating first-time candidates can be more difficult when they lack a public voting record.
"When choosing to back a candidate, we value accessibility -- being able to have a relationship with them and not just endorse them and then we never hear from them again," Murray said. "We look for candidates who have a heart for the community, someone who represents the constituents and is willing to tell us if they disagree with us. We appreciate someone straightforward."
Murray said the union also considers the office a candidate is seeking and the applicable contribution limits when deciding to endorse a candidate, as all endorsements come with financial contributions from IBEW 1260.
"We look at what race the candidate is in, and definitely what the contribution limit is when looking to support a candidate," Murray said.
Campaign-finance records show IBEW Local 1260's political action committee contributed $2,000 to Bissen's campaign on Dec. 11, 2025. The union later announced its endorsement of Sugimura on Feb. 26, 2026.
Murray could not provide a definitive explanation for the contribution or the later endorsement, though he suggested Sugimura's entry into the mayoral race may have been a factor.
The approaches of business associations and labor unions contrast with Maui Pono Network's emphasis on community support and candidate research.
The network says it reviewed candidates' voting records and funding, conducted hourlong interviews and spent more than 1,000 hours researching candidates. It describes its endorsed candidates as experienced, knowledgeable and committed to Maui's people and natural and cultural resources.
Maui Pono Network also publishes candidate interviews and voting information on its website. The organization has reported that its endorsed candidates raised an average of about $8,000 each for the primary, with much of their support coming from the community.
At the same time, outside political spending has played a significant role in Maui County Council races. Maui Pono Network reported that political action committees spent approximately $654,000 during the 2026 primary election. The figure highlights the scale of outside spending alongside the network's account of its candidates' community-based fundraising.
Those figures require careful comparison. Direct contributions to candidate campaigns and independent expenditures by outside committees are reported differently, and totals can vary depending on which committees and reporting periods are included.
Endorsements can help voters identify the organizations and constituencies backing a candidate, while campaign-finance records offer another way to examine the money moving through an election. Neither, on its own, establishes that a candidate will adopt an organization's priorities or that financial support determines how a candidate will govern.
Taken together, organizations' selection criteria, endorsement announcements, candidate responses, and financial disclosures can provide a clearer picture of the relationships surrounding Maui County elections. Looking beyond the endorsements themselves shows not only who is backing candidates, but also the priorities organizations say guide their decisions and the forms of support they provide.
Allyson Whaley is reporting for The Maui News as part of the Maui Nui Media and Creativity Collaborative Investigative Elections Reporting Fellowship, which supports expanded reporting on Maui County elections.
ENDORSEMENTS
Below are some of the endorsements for the two candidates running for Maui County mayor, including business groups, labor unions and political organizations.
Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen (center) joins members of the Hawaii Fire Fighters Association Local 1463, which has endorsed his campaign for re-election. The association cited Bissen’s investments in firefighter staffing, equipment and emergency preparedness in announcing its endorsement. Photo courtesy Bissen 2026 campaign
Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen
• Iron Workers Union Local 625
• Ironworkers Stabilization Fund
• Hawaiʻi Government Employees Association (HGEA)
• International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 142
• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 1186
• Operating Engineers Local Union No. 3
• Hawaiʻi Operating Engineers Industry Stabilization Fund (HOEISF)
• United Public Workers (UPW), AFSCME Local 646
• Hawaiʻi Fire Fighters Association (HFFA), Local 1463
• Hawaiʻi Longshore Division, ILWU
• Hawaiʻi State AFL-CIO
• UNITE HERE Local 5
• Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi (Maui Group)
• Kanaka Movement
• Maui Hotel & Lodging Association
• Former Maui County mayors Linda Lingle, Alan Arakawa, Charmaine Tavares
• Retired Maui Police Department leadership
Source: Bissen campaign and official campaign endorsements page
Maui County Council Vice Chair and mayoral candidate Yuki Lei Sugimura has received endorsements from the Operative Plasterers' and Cement Masons' International Association Local 630 (OPCMIA Local 630). Sugimura is pictured with Peter Iriarte, Business Manager Operative Plasterers' and Cement Masons' International Association Local 630. Photo Courtesy of Yuki Lei For Mayor
Maui County Council Vice Chair Yuki Lei Sugimura
• General Contractors Association of Hawaiʻi (GCA)
• Hawaiʻi REALTORS Political Action Committee (HRPAC)
• Maui Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committee (COMPAC)
• Hawaiʻi Regional Council of Carpenters (HRCC)
• Laborers-Employers Cooperation and Education Trust (LECET)
• Hawaiʻi Laborers' Union Local 368 (LIUNA)
• International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT), District Council 50
• Tapers Union
• GAMGWU
• Local 1926
• LU1791
• Local 132
• Plasterers Local 630
• Cement Finishers Local 630
• United Association Local 675
• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 1260
• Teamsters
• State of Hawaiʻi Organization of Police Officers (SHOPO), Maui County Chapter
Source: Sugimura campaign website