These are questions for oversight drawn from Maui County’s own public record — each one sourced, and framed as a question, never an accusation. They ask the government to show the record; they do not allege guilt.
How to read this page →When voices paid on rental and property values testify on the bill that sets those values — and some hold disaster-housing contracts — does the vote answer the displaced, or the portfolio?
On the public record- 10 real-estate-affiliated voices appear in Bill 9 / short-term-rental testimony (committee transcripts)
- 20 testimony segments invoke FEMA / disaster-housing in the same record
- Mr. Pfost — comment
- John Chaisson — comment
- Sonny Cave — comment
- Jordan Ruidas — comment
- Jim Sullivan — comment
- Mr. Bence — oppose
What we have requestedUIPA: FEMA/State disaster-housing contracts + rates for the named firms; the Bill 9 roll-call; cross testifier names to CSC + HANDS.
On the items where a member stepped back, who benefits — and on the comparable items where no one stepped back, why not?
On the public record- Batangan recused — {"date": "2026-05-15", "meeting": "County Council Meeting", "item": "CC 26-11", "dollars": [], "url": "https://mauicount
- Batangan recused — {"date": "2026-06-19", "meeting": "County Council Meeting", "item": null, "dollars": [], "url": "https://mauicounty.port
- Batangan recused — {"date": "2026-06-19", "meeting": "County Council Meeting", "item": null, "dollars": [], "url": "https://mauicounty.port
- Batangan recused — {"date": "2026-06-05", "meeting": "County Council Meeting", "item": null, "dollars": ["$500,000"], "url": "https://mauic
- Batangan recused — {"date": "2026-06-05", "meeting": "County Council Meeting", "item": "Bill 55", "dollars": [], "url": "https://mauicounty
What we have requestedUIPA / Board of Ethics: the disclosed basis for each recusal; cross to the donor/contract behind the item.
An organization that pays advocates to shape a vote and funds the members who cast it — whose voice does the outcome answer?
On the public record- registered lobbyists for Lanai Resorts, LLC dba Pulama Lanai: Fujimura, Susan A., Kaneko, William M., McCrory, Lynn P., Okudara, Jon T. (HSEC)
- donation to Yuki Lei Sugimura — $4,750 (CSC)
- donation to Alice L. Lee — $2,500 (CSC)
- donation to Tom Cook — $6,000 (CSC)
- donation to Tamara Paltin — $1,000 (CSC)
- donation to Nohelani Uʻu-Hodgins — $4,000 (CSC)
- registered lobbyists for General Contractors Association of Hawaii: Alivado, Shannon L., Bukoski, Kika G., Kido, C. Mike, Takenaka, Kenneth K., Yadao, Michael R. (HSEC)
- donation to Tom Cook — $2,500 (CSC)
- donation to Nohelani Uʻu-Hodgins — $2,500 (CSC)
- name also appears among County contract winners (HANDS)
- registered lobbyists for Apple Inc.: Cup Choy, Daniel, Drescher, John, Hughes, Scott, Pavlicek, Melissa T., Sinclair, Renee R. (HSEC)
- donation to Yuki Lei Sugimura — $1,600 (CSC)
What we have requestedUIPA: the org's lobbying-subject filings; cross to the bills + the deciders' votes on them.
A member who recorded zero recusals across every vote — did any of those votes touch a donor, a contract, or a personal interest that the public's own rules say warrants stepping back?
On the public record- Cook: 0 recusals / 70 votes / 16 meetings (officials.json, parsed from the County minutes)
- operator alleges Ethics/Gov-Relations committee action secured the non-recusals — verify in the Government Relations, Ethics & Transparency Committee minutes/votes
What we have requestedUIPA / Board of Ethics: Cook's financial-disclosure statements + any recusal advisory opinion; the GREAT committee roll-calls; cross his CSC donors to the items he voted.
When a commercial entity's rebuild permit issues ahead of homeowners still in review, does the rebuild line answer the greatest need — or the greatest reach?
On the public record- first ISSUED fire-recovery permit: Lahaina Gateway Commercial, LLC (2026-05-12); homeowners (Panlasigui, Aguinaldo, King Trust) In Review (EnerGov public record)
- pull permit-detail contractor/architect names; cross to CSC donors + HANDS + FEMA disaster-housing contracts
What we have requestedUIPA: full disaster-recovery permit log since 2023 w/ contractor/architect + issue dates; FEMA disaster-housing contracts; cross to CSC + HANDS.
Where a member has a close-family tie to an organized-labor interest, do the votes touching that interest carry a disclosure — and if not, why not?
On the public record- Uʻu-Hodgins: 0 recusals / 67 votes (officials.json)
- operator: father was a union rep — name + union TO BE IDENTIFIED from public record before relying on it
What we have requestedPublic record: identify the father + union; HSEC lobby + CSC donor check on that union; cross to her votes on labor/contract items.
6 additional matter(s) are held private at the record-building stage — they are not shown publicly until the public record sustains them. That is the covenant: prepared in private, raised in public only when sourced.
Prepared from the public record · audited for sourcing before publication · framed as questions, never accusations · the people’s records stay free · generated 2026-07-03 09:39 HST · aloha · pono