WAILUKU, Hawaii (KHON2) — On Saturday, Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen announced he is seeking re-election in 2026.
“I want to announce that I will be seeking re-election as mayor of Maui County in 2026,” he told KHON2 on Saturday.
Mayor Bissen took office as Mayor in January 2023.
The worst disaster in Hawaii’s history happened on Aug. 8, 2023 when a fire devastated the town of Lahaina, leaving over 100 people dead and thousands without homes. Another fire that day also destroyed multiple homes in Kula.
Mayor Bissen faced criticism immediately following the fire for the county’s lack of communication as the fire unfolded in real-time.
“You know, really what we are trying to do is build on the foundation that’s already started, especially in the area of emergency response and, and the communication that we’ve improved on and really wanting to hear the voices of our community, come through,” he said. “Not so much the bureaucracy, but really the voices of our community and building the trust and the consistency that’s happened over the last few years.”
“There’s more to do for sure, much more to do. And, so we want to continue that work. On continuing to build not just the foundation, but the next steps of recovery, and rebuilding for our entire community,” he added.
Bissen, a former judge and prosecutor, was eight months into his term when the fire happened. When asked what he has learned he said it was the strength of the Maui County community that impressed him the most. “Strangers helping strangers, families helping families, people making new friends and people coming from all around the world to come to our aid, it was very humbling to be able to witness, but I also know that there were improvements that needed to be made, and again, there is still more work to be done.”
“The other thing I learned, and this is more individual, is my purpose. What I’m here to do and why I’m here, why I was put in that situation,” he told KHON2. “I feel this renewed sense that I’ve had other careers before becoming mayor, and I always thought I knew what my purpose was to serve my community, to protect my community. And here, this put it right at the forefront. But I’ve been able to work with so many amazing people on our team, and really, all the credit goes to the team that we’ve assembled that have put in the work because they love this community just as much as I do. Every one of us does.”
Bissen also pushed for more affordable housing for local residents following the fire and proposed Bill 9, which would phase out thousands of vacation rentals around West and South Maui.
“I just wanted to say very clearly, the purpose of submitting that bill was not to divide our community,” he said on Saturday. “In fact, it was to preserve our community and meaning, allowing people to remain here in Maui County. And that’s really the focus. Of course, now, there have been hearings. There’s been a big group that was put together to investigate this issue more. We’ve heard the voices of the public, those for and those against and everyone’s had a chance to express their their opinion, their deep feelings. And so obviously this is a very consequential, decision for our council to make. And they have the bill, they’ll decide, the chair will decide when to schedule that hearing. Once that happens, they’ll have two more readings to discuss more. But yes, the impact on our community will be huge.”
He says his priorities will continue to be housing and the overall well-being of the community, as well as a strong push for cultural and historical sites
“As much as the fires destroyed, they also revealed some of the inequities and the inadequacies that happen sometimes in the system,” he said.
“Mental health of our community has always been at the forefront, over the last couple of years and we will remain focused on that. But what helps mental health is the housing if you know where you are going to stay, where you going to live and how, how your kids are going to be raised, that does help your well-being. Obviously. And so those things kind of go hand in hand. And then we really got to take care of our natural resources and culturally significant places, because that’s what makes us unique, from any other place in the world. And so there are many, many priorities. And those are the top three,” he continued.
He said the focus now is shifting towards the commercial and business properties on Front Street, with the infrastructure funds the county has received from the federal government. “We’re able to do a lot more work to speed up getting our businesses back online.”
Maui County mayoral candidates can start filing in February 2026.
Kauai will also have a mayoral election in 2026.
Hawaii Island and Honolulu will have a mayoral election again in 2028.