Civil Beat has asked candidates for the primary election on Aug. 8 to answer a survey about where they stand on various issues and what their priorities will be if elected. There are 10 candidates on the primary ballot and the top two finalists will go through to the General Election ballot in November.

The following comes from Amy Petterson, nonpartisan candidate for Maui County Mayor.

Her primary opponents are incumbent Richard Bissen, John Dunbar Justin Herrmann, P. Denise La Costa, Travis A. Liggett, Joseph Moses, Yuki Lei Sugimura, Callahan P. Welsh and Laurent Zahnd.

Go to Civil Beat’s 2026 Elections Guide for general information, and check out the other candidates on Civil Beatʻs 2026 Hawaiʻi Primary Ballot.

Why are you best suited for the job of mayor? And why do you want the job?

The reason I am suited for the job and want it is because I’m done with the neglect shown toward Maui and our community. I’ve watched as the county has grown increasingly complacent and stagnant. The county has chosen a retroactive approach at the expense of the community. Maui needs a mayor who is resilient, driven, forward thinking in protecting its people and environment, and who won’t prioritize the wishes of big businesses and the ultra-wealthy.

What is the biggest issue facing Maui County, and what is the first thing you would do to address it in the first six months after being elected?

It’s difficult to specify a single ‘biggest issue’ with the current state of Maui County in mind. There is so much to address and one problem cannot stand above the others when they all hold up Maui’s community and future. My first order of business is to introduce a surcharge tax on the ultra-wealthy who have bought houses on our island that are not their primary residence and are worth over $5 million. This action would be akin to the initiatives taken by New York, Canada and Paris.

Here’s one question from a constituent: What is your position on upcountry speed humps? Would you remove them? Why or why not?

As an upcountry resident myself, I’m in favor of keeping speed bumps. There is an abundance of reckless drivers, particularly on rural roads, and I myself have been on the receiving end of accidents caused by people who drive fast and recklessly. While speed bumps can not entirely prevent accidents, they are still a deterrent that I believe is better than nothing. I therefore fully support keeping and maintaining speed bumps.

The county has been moving forward with plans to bring much more of Maui’s water supply under public ownership instead of private. What are the obstacles to achieving that goal, and what is the cost?

While I approve this process to make private water systems become public, I believe the biggest obstacles are as mentioned by Council Chair Lee. We don’t know how well managed a lot of this privately-owned water supply is, nor do we know how much water it’ll give for the future. Even outside of the $30 million that is potentially being spent to purchase this system, that will not cover any repair costs it may need, nor will it cover those who need to be hired to maintain it.

Overtourism can degrade the environment, contribute to wear and tear on infrastructure, generate traffic and disrupt neighborhoods. What do you think about the amount of tourism on Maui and how it’s managed?

Maui has relied on tourism for too long, to the point that many of our local businesses are dependent on it to survive. I believe this has gone far past the point of acceptable. The current system works at the cost of our infrastructure, ecosystems and residents. The county and state has had many opportunities to mitigate the damage and manage the conduct of tourists, but have refrained from doing so and in effect, prioritized the commercialization of our home over the residents.

There are thousands of cesspools on Maui that must be removed by 2050. With an average cost of $15,000 to $30,000 to convert to septic, many homeowners say making the transition is not affordable. What should the county do to help with the conversion?

I believe that the county should help shoulder the cost. By properly taxing the ultra-wealthy, and tourist industry, the county would be able to procure enough funds to provide initiatives and grants to residents who intend to convert their cesspools to septic tanks earlier than the 2050 deadline. This program would only last until 2035, giving proactive residents nine years to make the switch with the county’s assistance — a push for improvement that won’t merely feel like a punishment.

Maui has been targeted for enforcement by ICE agents. What will be the position of your office to requests for more cooperation by county law enforcement and federal authorities?

Hawai’i has a long history of immigration, one that precedes our statehood. As such, the targeted attacks made by ICE agents will never be supported by my office. There have been multiple reports of ICE abusing those taken into custody, refusing legal representation, and outright moving people between ‘camps’ to prevent investigation. It is imperative that Maui does not serve such an oppressive, unconstitutional, discriminatory agency that harms both our culture and residents.

There is a growing mental health crisis on Maui, which faces a huge shortage in adult psychiatrists as well as primary care doctors. Outline what steps you will take to support efforts to meet that gap in services.

To put it bluntly, Hawai’i as a whole does not pay its residents, medical professional or otherwise, enough to live in the state. We have a higher cost of living than California and New York, yet we pay medical professionals less money than both of these states. As mayor, I would fight to improve worker pay wherever I can. I would also like to provide more aid to hospitals destroyed by natural disasters and I want to introduce more programs to teach residents how to become medical aids.

The $1.6 billion federal Community Block Development Grant is the largest disaster loan in U.S. history, but it falls far short of the estimates for recovery from the 2023 wildfires. What is the county doing to ensure those dollars are spent wisely and efficiently?

With the announcement of the ‘CDBG-DR Action Plan’ in 2025 with numerous contributors to aid in rebuilding, a list of proposed allocations, and how much the county had set aside for mitigation. With this, the plan must be rigorously overseen across all participating organizations for it to be successful. Now that it is currently going under amendment, residents will also have the chance to comment on the changes and voice their opinions on what may or may not be wise or efficient spending.

What is your assessment of programs combating invasive species in Maui Nui and what other measures would you advocate for in office?

I feel as though our programs to combat invasive species are not enough. While we have new initiatives, such as the county working with private land owners to curb the deer population, this program only targets deer. Not the wider ungulate population that still harms our ecosystems. Instead, I would like to implement a broader program that works with willing private land owners to allow hunters onto their property via contract, liability waivers and a tax cut incentive for owner participation.

The county now has a law on the books to phase out several thousand vacation rentals in apartment-zoned districts starting in 2029. The companion measure to grandfather in more than half of those properties has since been rejected by all three planning commissions. What should be done about this unresolved issue?

If owners of these vacation rentals wish to grandfather their property in, I would propose the planning commissions decide which properties can be grandfathered in based on how long they’ve be operating for. Many vacation rentals were only bought in the last couple of years after the AirBnB boom and up to 94% of them are not owned by residents. This way the county determine who is likely to operate in the long term and who only purchased their properties because of a quick money trend.

How would you make the county administration more transparent and accessible to the public?

I intend to push the county to expand upon its use of social media. There’s been an increased usage and reliance on apps such as TikTok and YouTube to release quick, concise messages to the public. Many Maui and state new sources use these platforms to reach a broader range of people and have found success in doing so. By following suit, the county can provide clear, concise updates that are not solely tailored to more specific media outlets and instead speak to residents directly.