Real-estate broker; former Maui Planning Commission chair
She offers the clearest immediate break from Bissen and has published more specific first actions than a purely rhetorical outsider campaign.
Her plans move faster than the available independent proof that the savings, legal path and executive capacity will work at county scale.
| Proposal or experience | Implementation reality | Judgment |
|---|---|---|
| Former Planning Commission chair; decades in real estate and small-business ownership. | Directly relevant to land use, housing and regulation, but not equivalent to managing county departments, emergency operations or a billion-dollar public budget. | Relevant, incomplete. |
| Transmit repeal of Bill 9 on day one and build Council votes. | Correctly recognizes the mayor cannot repeal an ordinance alone. Success depends on Council composition, legal strategy and an acceptable replacement. | Procedurally credible. |
| Order an independent forensic audit. | The mayor can initiate reviews and seek outside expertise, subject to procurement and scope. An audit may reveal issues but does not automatically improve operations. | Useful diagnostic. |
| Fuel-tax holiday, return excess revenue and approximately $1,200 annual household relief. | Requires verification of eligible funds, legal authority, recurring obligations and distribution method. | Specific but unverified. |
Some components are executable and more specific than the first site version suggested. The difficulty is scale. Repeal and audit actions can begin quickly, while affordability, housing production and hospital advocacy depend on Council, state authority, capital and implementation talent. Her campaign would become substantially stronger by naming a prospective managing director and publishing a four-year fiscal model.
La Costa reported $103,115 in receipts and just under $93,400 spent through June 30. Of the reported receipts, $76,615 came from loans she made to her own campaign, meaning the campaign is substantially self-financed rather than supported by a donor network comparable to Bissen’s or Sugimura’s.
See the complete funding comparison and donor context →
La Costa presents the clearest change-of-course case and several specific first actions. Her central concern is the thinner record of countywide executive delivery, together with fiscal, legal and implementation assumptions that still require independent validation.
La Costa proposes suspending the County’s 24-cent-per-gallon fuel tax through December 31, 2026.
The benefit is easy to understand and measure at the pump. Her own plan acknowledges the action requires Council procedure; therefore it is better characterized as a mayoral priority and coalition test than a day-one executive action.
Her campaign estimates a homeowner family of four could save about $700 annually through a bundle of fuel, sewer, refuse, vehicle-weight, homeowner-exemption and GET-related changes.
The number is useful because it can be audited. It is not yet an independently validated forecast: different households receive different benefits, several components require legislative action, and recurring service costs remain after rates are reduced.
La Costa says she would order an independent forensic audit on day one, focusing in part on $174 million in carryover savings and claimed 46% budget growth.
An outside audit could expose idle funds, weak controls or unsupported spending. It could also find that significant balances are legally restricted, encumbered or needed for multiyear capital work. Scope, procurement, independence and a public response protocol determine whether this is accountability or theater.
La Costa served on the Maui Planning Commission from 2018 to 2023, including as chair, and leads the West Maui Community Task Force.
That is stronger preparation than a purely private-sector outsider. It does not demonstrate command of county labor relations, emergency management, procurement, departmental performance or a billion-dollar operating and capital program.
Who would run the government with her, and what independently reviewed four-year fiscal model shows that tax and fee relief can coexist with wildfire recovery, infrastructure, staffing and basic services? Named leadership and a reconciled budget would materially strengthen the evidence for her candidacy.
La Costa did not hold a Council or mayoral office responsible for the Wailea 670 amendments, Bill 131 pesticide proposal or Bill 9 vote. Her public-service record should therefore be evaluated primarily through Planning Commission participation, public statements and campaign proposals rather than Council roll-call votes.