The state’s largest public worker union endorsed Maui Mayor Richard Bissen this week for a second four-year term.

The announcement from the Hawaii Government Employees Association came well ahead of the candidate filing deadline in June and before anyone else has declared their intent to challenge him in the non-partisan election next fall.

Political observers say the unusually early endorsement by HGEA — which represents 35,000 government employees, including 3,500 in Maui County — is likely an effort to dissuade potential competition from entering the race.

“All of a sudden you realize that you, as a potential candidate, are up against something more formidable than you thought at this stage,” said Neal Milner, a longtime political analyst in Hawai‘i. “It may affect your timeline enough to say, ‘I’m not going to do it.’”

HGEA Executive Director Randy Perreira said in a statement Monday that the union decided to endorse Bissen because of his “record of supporting public-sector workers, protecting employee rights and benefits, and strengthening communities.” 

The union, which represents supervisory, clerical, professional, educational and emergency services workers, did not make anyone available for an interview Tuesday.

“Mayor Bissen has shown a refreshing level of collaboration with our union that makes him stand out from other public-sector employers,” Perreira said in the statement. “His administration resolves grievances fairly, keeps an open door, and has worked with us to secure much-needed gains in pay and benefits for the working families we represent.”

Bissen is currently running unopposed, but with nearly a year remaining before the election, potential challengers still have almost six months to officially declare their candidacy.

HGEA also endorsed Bissen when he first ran for mayor in 2022, although the group did not publicly declare their support that year until after the filing deadline in June. The former judge upset incumbent Mayor Michael Victorino.

While it may not be common, it’s not unheard of for large unions to make an endorsement so early in an election cycle, according to Milner, a former University of Hawaiʻi political science professor who is also a Civil Beat columnist. He couldn’t comment directly on HGEA’s decision to publicly support Bissen, but noted that groups sometimes make endorsements before it is clear how many candidates will be in a race in an effort to give an early boost to politicians that they know they work well with. 

“When a big union does that — or when any group does it — there are generally two reasons: One is to discourage other candidates from running, and two is to help their candidate get a fundraising head start,” he said. “Bissen is an incumbent, which gives him a lot of advantages anyway in terms of raising money, but he has also had to deal with some troubled waters.”

Maui has endured arguably the greatest challenge it has ever faced with the deadly Aug. 8, 2023, wildfires and ongoing recovery. Bissen’s popularity has waned as some say the county’s response has fallen short. A Civil Beat survey last year found that about 47% of Maui residents still felt favorable to some degree toward Bissen.

He has taken a strong but divisive stand to provide more housing for local residents, introducing a bill now pending a final vote with the Maui County Council to phase out thousands of short-term rentals.

It often takes time to mobilize opposition around a viable candidate, especially an incumbent, Milner said. Potential challengers could see an early endorsement from a large and powerful organization such as HGEA as evidence of how difficult and expensive it might be to move forward with a campaign, he said.

In Monday’s statement announcing HGEA’s endorsement, Bissen said he was honored to have the union’s support. 

 “Our public workers are the backbone of this county, and I’m grateful for the partnership we’ve built to support them and their families,” he said. “… Together, we will continue strengthening Maui County with a focus on fairness, respect for our workforce, and decisions rooted in community.”

Civil Beat’s coverage of Maui County is supported in part by a grant from the Nuestro Futuro Foundation.