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But the Aug. 8 wildfires dramatically upended the status quo for Bissen. Rather than chipping away at campaign promises of creating affordable housing and good-paying jobs, the introverted judge was suddenly thrust before local, national and international news crews and traumatized residents demanding help and answers.

Bissen’s on-the-job training in crisis management was painful to watch at times. The political newcomer blundered his way through news conferences and interviews in the aftermath of the country’s worst wildfire in over a century.

On the evening news the day of the fire, the mayor told viewers he was “” the road to and from Lahaina was open, unaware of any fatalities until the next morning or that people were jumping into the ocean or fleeing flames on foot to save themselves.

At a news conference later that month, Bissen stunned reporters by saying he didn’t know who was in charge during the fire.

For months, he refused to say what time he left the emergency operations center in the early hours of Aug. 9 as Lahaina smoldered. When pressed at an October news conference, he finally said he left around 3 a.m. 

Not until the Hawaii attorney general’s 400-page report on the fires came out did Bissen acknowledge he had left the EOC to attend a doctor’s appointment on the afternoon of Aug. 8 as wildfires were burning in Lahaina, Kihei, Olinda and Kula.

“That’s a reflection of inexperience,” said Neal Milner, a retired University of Hawaii Manoa political science professor, describing Bissen’s early gaffes. “He didn’t even know enough to lie his way into an answer. That was lack of political skills.”

Bissen’s shaky performance prompted , some of which . There’s already speculation that current and former Maui County Council members will challenge him in two years when he’s up for reelection, should he choose to seek another four-year term.

But as Maui marks the one-year anniversary of the fires, which claimed at least 102 lives and displaced some 13,000 people, Bissen remains on the job. And reviews of his performance are decidedly mixed.

“He got thrust into a pretty impossible position. And I would say for the first six months, I felt disappointed,” said Jordan Hocker, community education and outreach coordinator of , speaking as an individual and not on behalf of her organization. “But it does feel like he’s finding his stride.” 

At Arm’s Length

Political observers give Bissen credit for sticking it out and showing backbone during one of Maui’s most tragic chapters. 

Seven months into the mayor’s first term, the hellscape of a rapidly moving fire fueled by gale-force winds engulfed Lahaina. On top of the deaths, the new mayor was suddenly dealing with thousands of displaced people on an island with an extreme housing shortage, billions of dollars in financial losses, hundreds of lawsuits and a decimated tourism industry, Maui’s main economic engine.

But Bissen has made up for some of those early stumbles. In describing his evolution as a political leader, observers point to Bissen’s recent proposal to phase out 7,000 short-term vacation rentals to create housing for long-term renters. The proposed move, while incredibly divisive, won kudos from , an advocacy group that was initially critical of Bissen and camped out on a Kaanapali beach in the heart of West Maui’s tourist district from November to May, demanding “long-term, dignified housing” for fire survivors.

The protesters ended the occupation after Bissen for the vacation rental phase-out.

“This is the victory that Lahaina Strong was looking for,” Lahaina Strong organizer Paele Kiakona said at a joint with Bissen on May 2.

The mayor thanked Lahaina Strong for “their passion, their diligence and their commitment in fighting for our people.”

“I do not see him making decisions that are about him. It’s always about the community,” said Archie Kalepa, a Maui community leader, waterman and member of Bissen’s advisory board for Lahaina. “If I was to grade the mayor today, I would give him an A.”

An interaction between Bissen and a member of the audience at the mayor’s most recent weekly community update in Lahaina also demonstrated someone who’s prioritizing the benefit of the whole over the individual. After being called a liar by the audience member, who was protesting what he viewed as a pending homeless sweep, Bissen calmly but firmly explained that the county would be taking back the public space where people had been camping out.

“That beach park is going back to everybody in this room,” Bissen said. “You can sit down. You’re done.”

The mayor told the crowd that evening that choosing the path forward since Aug. 8 has been a balancing act.

“There has not been a unanimous decision on anything,” Bissen said. “Everything is divided. One group says this, another says that.”

He’s also earned praise for dealing with federal and state agencies working to restore Lahaina. Bissen signed a $1.7 billion budget in June that supports housing initiatives for wildfire survivors, infrastructure repairs, wildfire recovery and resiliency, social service programs and core county services.

“It’s a lot to handle and he’s not running away from it,” said Charlene Schulenburg, a former classmate who managed Bissen’s successful campaign for mayor against an incumbent.

Despite the admiration, many see a man still struggling to shed his judicial demeanor. Rather than drafting rulings behind closed doors and having those decisions speak for themselves, Bissen is now expected to explain himself, interact with the public, compromise and answer questions from the media, among others.

“Much of his adult life has been in that situation where he’s in the branch of government that isn’t popularly elected and isn’t supposed to be responsive to the opinions of the public, right? So being a mayor, it’s like the complete opposite of that,” said Colin Moore, political science associate professor at the University of Hawaii Manoa.

Despite expanding his communications team since the fire, Bissen tightly controls information and often struggles with the media. He avoids interviews, limits questions at news conferences despite Maui’s tiny press corps and barrels off the stage as quickly as possible.

The county’s one-year tribute and remembrance ceremony on Thursday at the Lahaina Civil Center is open to the public, but Bissen is prohibiting members of the media from attending.

Bissen did not respond to multiple requests to sit down in person, talk on the phone or chat by Zoom for this story.

The mayor keeps others at bay as well. State and county lawmakers have found themselves struggling to access Bissen.

‘I Just Don’t Hear Anything’

State Rep. Elle Cochran points out how the 9th floor of the county building in Wailuku where the mayor keeps his office is off-limits without an escort.

“That’s a public building. It’s not like a private thing. It’s supposed to be open to the general public,” said Cochran, whose West Maui district includes Lahaina.

Dick Mayer, retired UH Maui College professor, was used to calling past mayors on the phone, unscheduled, and having them pick up. Sometimes he’d stop by their office for impromptu meetings.

Not so with Bissen.

Mayer, a longtime political observer, said it took a couple of months to arrange a meeting with Bissen recently. 

“It was a great call,” Mayer said. “It just took an extraordinarily long time to make an appointment.”

And it was by Zoom.

Coffee grower Sydney Smith sits on the county’s Agriculture Working Group, an advisory body established by former Mayor Mike Victorino that made recommendations leading to the formation of the Department of Agriculture two years ago. Like Mayer, she’s used to being able to call a mayor and get them on the phone. With Bissen, not so much.

“I have written a few times to run things by him, and I just don’t hear anything,” Smith said.

Experts in government transparency, accountability and freedom of the press say Bissen’s aloofness and inaccessibility are problematic. 

“The function of an elected official is very different from the function of a judge. If you’re elected, democratically elected, you’re by definition accountable to the people,” said David Loy, legal director for the .

Being accountable to the people means talking to the press, not stonewalling them, Loy said. 

If government leaders, or even rank-and-file county employees, are inaccessible, that weakens democracy and the public’s right to know.

File A UIPA

Bissen’s media-allergic style pervades his administration. And that’s by design.

The mayor’s communications team routinely instructs reporters to get information through public records requests, a formal process that typically results in days, weeks or even months of delays.

A recent inquiry about how many employees have left the Maui Emergency Management Agency over the past year required a request be filed under the Uniform Information Practices Act, the state’s public records law.

“The response to your question will come from the Department of the Corporation Counsel via your UIPA request,” an unnamed Bissen public information officer said by email.

The question, posed last month, remains unanswered.

Gag Order Culture

Because county employees are instructed not to speak to journalists, requested information usually comes in the form of carefully crafted statements delivered by email rather than in interviews where conversation and follow-up questions can flow.

“This type of prohibition against communications with the press, it really does restrict the First Amendment rights of the employees who have, you know, critical information about what is happening in our government, and we want to share that with the public,” said Jennifer Nelson, senior staff attorney with . “You also have a First Amendment right to gather news and receive information from willing speakers.”

Gag order culture is common with judges, who generally don’t speak with the media. But small-town mayors are different. They tend to be accessible and keep open lines of communication with the press.

In contrast to Bissen, Big Island Mayor Mitch Roth will typically respond within minutes to text messages left on his cell phone. Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi and Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami are also usually quick to respond.

Some seasoned politicians see Bissen as a work in progress.

“When you’re a public servant and an elected official, you learn very quickly to adjust accordingly. In other words, you don’t get to have the luxury of being your old self,” said Alice Lee, a political veteran who chairs the Maui County Council. “That means you work for everybody whether you like people or not.”

Trained as a lawyer, Bissen tends to hold his cards close to the vest, she said.

“I think he’s trying to overcome that,” Lee said.

He’s the only mayor she can recall who didn’t previously serve on the County Council. The lack of legislative experience has likely lengthened Bissen’s adjustment period, Lee said.

Cabinet Turmoil

Bissen is well known in Hawaiian cultural circles.

The 62-year-old father of three daughters grew up in Wailuku where his grandfather operated a pig farm and catering business, specializing in kalua pork. He helped his father and grandfather grow taro in Kahakuloa, according to a by the Maui Times when he was a mayoral candidate.

The ukelele-playing mayor knows olelo Hawaii and belongs to Hawaiian cultural groups.

Within days of moving onto the 9th floor, Bissen and his top leaders held an awa ceremony on the lawn of the county building.

The 35 directors, deputy directors and cultural leaders made a “verbal contract” to work collaboratively and personally commit to doing their best to act as “servant leaders for our community,” Bissen said in his first State of the County address.

Despite the harmonious beginning, the Bissen administration has been rocked by high-level turnover.

The most widely publicized departure was the abrupt resignation of Herman Andaya, head of the Maui Emergency Management Agency who stepped down Aug. 17 citing health reasons after being widely criticized for saying he didn’t regret not sounding emergency warning sirens in Lahaina during the fire. He’s been replaced by Amos Lonokailua-Hewett, a retired fire battalion chief.

Bissen’s managing director, Kekuhaupio Akana, retired in November, 10 months after being appointed. Josiah Nishita replaced him as well as being assigned to lead the newly formed .

Keanu Lau Hee, deputy managing director, also left and as of July 16 works for the Hawaii Community Foundation as senior director of the .

Kathleen Aoki, who lost her Lahaina home in the fires, retired from her job as planning director on New Year’s Eve, and was replaced by Kate Blystone.

Finance Director Scott Teruya was fired on April 8 for unknown reasons. At last report he was working remotely for the Kauai County real property tax division.

The Finance Department has had subsequent shake-ups. Bissen appointed former budget director Maria Zielinski as county finance director after Teruya’s departure. But Marcy Martin was later tapped for the top finance role and Zielinski is now deputy director.

Bissen’s chief of communications and public affairs, Mahina Martin, who was the face of the county during the early days and weeks of the fire, has since moved to a less visible role as public affairs director. Laksmi Abraham, who was Bissen’s legislative liaison and executive assistant, became director of communications and government affairs on Feb. 1.

Pervasive Worries

Bissen’s evolution as mayor and his cabinet’s comings-and-goings are unfolding as Maui continues to face perilous times.

The county’s housing crisis that plagued the island before the fires has reached dire proportions with more than 1,000 households relocating to the mainland, according to the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization. Others who are sticking around for now cite extreme worries over their personal finances and ability to survive.

“The high cost of living, especially housing, and the inability to accrue savings are chief stressors and it is worse than right after the pandemic,” a by the Hawaii State Rural Health Association found.

If the County Council approves the phase-out of some 7,000 short-term rentals, the county could lose up to $91.8 million in annual tax revenue, according to a by Travel Technology Association and Hawaii economic consultant Kloninger & Sims.

UHERO has estimated the proposal could by 13% and lower housing costs.

“There are impacts if we don’t do this and there are impacts if we do this,” Bissen said in May. “And we’re willing to accept the results of the impacts of doing this.”

While the proposal is highly controversial, some say it’s a sign of Bissen’s development as an elected official.

“Politicians don’t like to stick their necks out,” Milner said.

But with Maui facing so many challenges and with a mayor still finding his stride as a political leader, the county’s future seems shaky.

“Every day a local family moves away,” Maui County Council member Tamara Paltin, who represents West Maui, said last spring during a council meeting.

When asked for her assessment of Bissen’s performance as mayor recently, Paltin declined an interview request but offered a brief statement.

“Diplomatically I don’t think I can speak to this as we have a lot more work we will need to collaborate on going forward,” Paltin said.

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