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 Travis Liggett, nonpartisan candidate for Maui County Mayor.

Her primary opponents are incumbent Richard Bissen, John Dunbar, Justin Herrmann, P. Denise La Costa, Joseph Moses, Amy Petterson, 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?

My fields are science, engineering, nonprofit, public policy and community advocacy. I identify overlooked risks, build coalitions, author legislation and advance solutions from concept to implementation. Maui County’s wastewater disinfection law, FlushAware.com and kaiaction.org are a model: identify problems, build datasets, pass solutions and secure funding. Maui Nui deserves transparent, data-driven leadership focused on solving system-level problems before they become new crises.

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?

My top priorities are wastewater disinfection, housing security, and watershed and reef restoration. Since 2021, I have led efforts through FlushAware.com, Bill 52 (Ord. 5592), SB2971, and kaiaction.org to advance universal municipal wastewater disinfection and reef-safe UV treatment at Maui’s Kahului and Kīhei wastewater reclamation facilities. In my first six months as mayor, I will secure funding and timelines to quickly complete CBS-1169 and CBS-5031 to secure key health protections.

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

The speed bump “scourge” is a clear and present public health crisis warranting repeal of improper systems as quickly as possible. Residents who have suffered worsening health or vehicular damage should be compensated for harm, distress and damages in an orderly manner. Legislation approving swift removal and prompt monetary compensation to residents will be a priority, and voluntary speed data feedback systems can educate residents on habits that will lead to actual improvements in behavior.

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?

I support maximum public ownership and control of water resources because wai underpins public health, housing, agriculture, environmental stewardship and economic resilience. The challenge is overcoming legal, financial, technical and political barriers while moving quickly. When evaluating acquisitions, I would focus on long-term security, transparency, full lifecycle costs, watershed protection and affordability, while leveraging philanthropy to accelerate public ownership and accountability.

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 can rethink housing as critical community infrastructure. Through the MLAST framework, large-scale philanthropy will expand housing access for displaced local residents and support recruitment of needed professionals, including healthcare workers. Emergency housing provision through the Hanai Kakou Act can serve broader social goals than tourism alone, to reunite families, reduce homelessness, strengthen essential services and ensure Maui remains a resilient community for generations.

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?

The MLAST framework can be employed to roll out massive philanthropic investment to rapidly phase out groundwater effluent discharges with systems better than septic tanks, to focus on individual bioreactor garden disposal methods, or even community-scale solutions such as the development in Ma’alaea of reuse solutions with system-level benefits like irrigation reuse greenbelt firebreaks planted with native plants, toward an integrated vision of zeroing out groundwater effluent discharges.

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?

Cooperation with ICE-related agencies will be zeroed-out to the maximum extent allowed by law, with the exception of enforcement on corporate or other foreign interests or parties who pay little or no attention to local customs or laws that protect human and ecosystem health. Maui Nui will be explicitly stated as a sanctuary municipality for persecuted minorities and demographics from all places, domestic or abroad. Refugees will be welcome to the maximum extent the community is able to support.

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.

Mental health should be approached holistically. Before treatment begins, people should have access to appropriate medical evaluations, including consideration of physical, infectious, genetic, environmental, housing and social factors that may contribute to distress. I support emergency housing through the Hanai Kakou Act, accelerated wastewater disinfection, expanded access to recovery services, reduced access to hard substances and a prevention-focused approach to address systemic factors.

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?

The $1.6 billion recovery grant is significant, but it will not cover all of Lahaina’s needs. The county’s focus should be simple: ensure residents return home, rebuild infrastructure and build-in resilience to future disasters. I support public dashboards, independent audits, clear timelines and regular community updates. The proposed MLAST framework will attract additional philanthropic and private investment. Irrigation reuse greenbelt fire breaks can zero out injection wells and save lives.

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

Programs combating invasive species are underfunded and under-scaled, with existing and emerging threats on the horizon, presenting significant risks that I see as effectively unmanaged. With Maui’s history of pathogens and disease, municipal wastewater disinfection will be countywide, to eliminate vectors that many believed were stopped long ago. A systems-level approach to all species-out-of-place will be enacted with the concept of a mass balance applied at all levels to mitigate risks early.

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?

Bill 9 should be upheld and the “TIG” H-3 and H-4 rezoning measures should be vetoed, eliminated or reversed. Maui Nui as a whole needs to turn away from tourism and toward the long-term security of residents.

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

Government should operate with a presumption of disclosure. All non-exempt public records should be proactively published online, and no UIPA request should be denied when disclosure is permitted by law. I would create a searchable transparency portal containing contracts, permits, expenditures, studies, correspondence and wastewater data, including an official version of FlushAware.com. I would expand meeting access, publish decision summaries, and provide input methods for ideas and concerns.