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Earlier this year, Maui County hired a local company with political connections to Mayor Richard Bissen to help it recruit and retain workers. 

The company, Brandcrafters LLC, was awarded a $150,000 marketing contract to help bolster employee appreciation and help fill more than 800 vacancies across county government in a wide range of departments, from police and fire to agriculture and civil defense.

So far the company has put together a job website and placed ads online and in local newspapers trying to get more people to apply for jobs. 

is owned by Rachael Lallo, who in 2022 worked on Bissen’s campaign designing logos, lawn signs and digital ads. She also worked on his website. 

Lallo is also the daughter of Cynthia Lallo, a senior executive assistant in Bissen’s office. She too helped out on his campaign, and, according to state records, had loaned thousands of dollars to Bissen in the form of campaign banners and advertising.   

Rachael Lallo acknowledged her relationships with the mayor and her mother in an interview with Civil Beat, and said that the contract — her first ever with a government agency — was awarded via competitive bidding. 

She said the fact that she worked on Bissen’s campaign and had familial relationships inside his office was not a secret nor was it something that she felt gave her a competitive advantage. In fact, she said, it almost resulted in her not applying at all for the contract because of how it might look to others.

“We were really transparent in our proposal and we listed that I worked on the campaign,” Lallo said. “We were really transparent because we didn’t want it to look shady at all. If they choose us great and if they don’t for any reason, including because I had worked on the campaign, then that’s totally OK and we would understand.” 

Mahina Martin, chief of communications and public affairs for Maui County, said that the mayor was not involved in the selection process for the contract and also pointed out that the award was subject to competitive bidding.

The original stated that the contract would be awarded based on a point scale that would consider, among other things, experience, the marketing plan itself and cost. The document also stated that the contractor would be called upon to “collaborate and strategize” with the Office of the Mayor, the Department of Management and the Department of Personnel Services. 

According to Martin provided to Civil Beat, there were four companies that submitted bids, including Brandcrafters, Hawaii News Now, Karey Kapoi LLC and ZeekDigital. Both Brandcrafters and ZeekDigital submitted proposals totaling $150,000 while Karey Kapoi’s proposal was $125,000. Hawaii News Now submitted a bid for $29,345.

The cost of the proposal only accounts for 15 points out of a total of 100 that could be awarded.

Based on the scoring sheets, Brandcrafters narrowly beat out Karey Kapoi with a cumulative score of 213 to 209.

Martin was among the three Maui County workers who graded the proposals. She said that none of the evaluators, including herself, were involved in Bissen’s mayoral campaign.

Colin Moore, a political scientist and associate professor at the University of Hawaii Research Organization, said the contract might raise some eyebrows given the political and workplace connections between the Lallos and Bissen.

But, he said it depends on how the contracting process played out. 

“You have to make sure that it’s a fair and open bidding process,” Moore said. “As long as it was a fair and open bid I don’t see a problem.” 

He said it’s also important to note that Maui County is small, with a population of about 164,000 people before the Aug. 8 wildfires. That means interpersonal connections can be hard to avoid when looking for a local government contractor. 

“I’m kind of two minds here because I understand why the public might be concerned and the optics might not be great,” Moore said. “But Maui is also a small place and I suspect there are relatively few people who would be able to provide these services on Maui who didn’t have political connections with the mayor or perhaps even one of his opponents.” 

Maui County’s contract with Lallo and her company is set to last for eight months, but could be extended for up to four years.

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