Questions District 7 (Keauhou Bay) Voters May Wish to Consider About Manu Powers Before Voting
As a voter, I believe it's important to look beyond campaign statements and consider a candidate's public actions, the information reflected in their public statements, and whether they have demonstrated a willingness to listen to the community, and hear different perspectives before speaking publicly.
One example is District 7 candidate Manu Powers' June 14 interview with Big Island Now. In that interview, she praised Kamehameha Schools' communication with the community, saying they've been accessible and engaged over the years. Regarding the bungalow/hotel portion of the plan specifically, she said it's 'still very speculative' and that she hasn't yet formed an opinion on that piece, while noting she does support relocating operations for the historical sites. She also said she believes I ('Melendez's') heart is in the right place, and that the school would listen if there were a consistently shared majority opinion.
To my knowledge based on the published interview, she did not mention the petition that was given to Kamehameha Schools and that I messaged her about that has community signatures by more than 7,470 people opposing the proposed development or the separate petition signed by more than 730 people urging Hawaiʻi Island leaders to make the protection of natural resources and infrastructure a higher priority. That petition also links to published news articles discussing concerns about increasing demands on Hawaiʻi Island's natural resources and infrastructure. These petitions might resembled a "shared majority opinion" as she mentions in her interview that the school would listen to a shared majority, and it seems Kamehameha Schools is still going forward with this bungalow resort development.
**Petitions:**
https://www.change.org/p/protect-hawai%CA%BBi-island-s-future-stop-unsafe-overdevelopment
For several years, I also attempted to contact Manu Powers through multiple methods regarding Keauhou Bay while she served as President of the Daughters of Hawaiʻi because King Kamehameha III's birthplace is located in Keauhou Bay. I also left messages explaining that thousands of community members opposed the proposed development, through the contact methods available to me at the time. To the best of my knowledge and records, I never received a response or had the opportunity to share my perspective before her interview.
These facts lead me to ask several questions that I believe District 7 voters may wish to consider for themselves:
* Has the candidate demonstrated a willingness to listen to all sides before speaking publicly?
* When important community issues arise, does the candidate seek information from multiple perspectives before reaching a public conclusion?
* Manu Powers, in the Big Island Now interview it says she is a tenant of Kamehameha Schools, and her children attend Kamehameha Schools. Based on her June 14 Big Island Now interview and the facts described above, do you believe she considered all publicly available perspectives before speaking about the pending judicial review court case? I leave that judgment to you. I had made my court filings publicly available, and for several years I attempted to contact her regarding my concerns about the proposed development and I left messages letting her know thousands of signatures opposed this development. To the best of my knowledge, I never received a response.
* If issues related to Keauhou Bay, including a future Special Management Area (SMA) permit process, come before the County, how will the candidate ensure that community voices are heard alongside the applicant's perspective?
* How will the candidate approach future decisions affecting Keauhou Bay, Hawaiian cultural resources, and the broader District 7 community?
* What qualities do you believe are most important in someone elected to represent District 7?
This article is not intended to tell anyone how to vote or to ask anyone to agree with my position in the pending judicial review. Rather, I hope it encourages voters to review the publicly available information, evaluate each candidate's public actions and statements, ask thoughtful questions, and decide for themselves which candidate best reflects the qualities they believe are important for representing District 7.
Please remember to vote before the deadline.
https://elections.hawaii.gov/
**Read the court filings: here**
https://bigislandsupport.com/savekbay/
**Read the Big Island Now interview with Manu Powers and decide for yourself what information reflects community's concerns and community voices, with regards to the Keauhou Bay judicial review court case she was interviewed about.**
https://bigislandnow.com/2026/06/14/lawsuit-trying-to-stop-kamehameha-schools-keauhou-bay-plan-to-have-hearing-about-consultants-role/
Mahalo,
Sincerely,
Rebecca Melendez
P.S. In earlier posts, I stated that Manu Powers said there wasn't enough information available to reach an informed conclusion about the judicial review case. On rereading the interview, I don't believe that fairly reflects what she said. She was referring specifically to the bungalow/hotel portion of the plan, which she described as "still very speculative," not making a broader statement about the case itself. I apologize for the earlier error and have corrected it here. I'd also note that the court filings related to this case have been publicly available on my site throughout, and she was welcome to reach out to me directly with any questions about the case— to the best of my knowledge, she did not. Please read the full interview yourself and draw your own conclusions: https://bigislandnow.com/2026/06/14/lawsuit-trying-to-stop-kamehameha-schools-keauhou-bay-plan-to-have-hearing-about-consultants-role/