Friends,

We are watching something play out in real time—and it should concern every resident of Maui County.

Over and over again, the County is spending millions of public funds not to fix anything, but to deny the problems exist and attack the whistleblowers who expose corruption.

The cases involving Chris Salem and Leo Caires are not isolated. They raise serious questions about whether whistleblowers are being heard—or pushed aside at taxpayer expense.

At the same time, the County Council is advancing a budget with almost no discussion of a core issue: How is our spending actually being overseen?

The recent Fraud Risk Assessment from Spire Hawaiʻi identified major gaps in accountability and flagged the County’s exposure to fraud risk. That report should have sparked real discussion. Instead, it’s been largely ignored.  Here's Maui Now Feb 20, 2026 

Why?  The report correctly identifies the County's enormous risk of fraud but completely mischaracterizes where the responsibility lies. It says that the county lacks a mechanism for accountability. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Here’s what most people don’t realize and why your Council Members don't want to discuss this: The Council already has the power and duty to expose and deal with corruption, they just refuse to use their power because some people could go to jail if they did. 

A full Council Investigation would open Pandora's box. None of them knows how deep it would go, and because of intimidation by Corporation Counsel, none have the guts to find out. And so nothing changes.

Under the Maui County Charter, the Council has full investigative authority—including subpoena power—to examine any matter within its jurisdiction.  

That means the issue is not a lack of tools.

It’s a lack of action.

So we have to ask:

Why has there been no formal Council investigation into the specific findings of the Spire Hawaiʻi Fraud Risk Assessment—particularly its identification of weak internal controls, lack of consistent oversight mechanisms, and increased exposure to fraud risk across departments?

Why has the County Auditor’s office not undergone the required peer review cycle for years, despite this being a basic professional standard for audit credibility—and why has there been no public explanation or corrective plan presented to the Council?

Why are repeated, documented allegations—such as those raised in the Salem and Caires matters—met primarily with taxpayer-funded legal defense, rather than independent fact-finding, internal review, or the use of the Council’s own investigative authority under the Charter?

And given that the Maui County Charter grants this Council full investigative authority—including subpoena power—to examine past County actions, why has that authority not been used to compel testimony, documents, and a clear public record on these issues?

All this has real consequences.

Maui County is struggling to fill critical positions. That’s not a mystery. People don’t want to work in an environment where accountability feels optional and raising concerns leads nowhere.

With the budget now heading to the full Council—and elections approaching—this is the moment for public engagement.

We need voices. Yours included.

If you’ve been waiting for a time to speak up, this is it.

We are asking you to:

Submit testimony to the Maui County Council

• Ask for a formal investigation into the Fraud Risk Assessment findings
• Demand transparency from the Auditor regarding his oversight gaps
• Hold elected officials accountable for not using the authority they already have

You can read  Erin Nolan's Civil Beat update on Leo Caires wrongful termination lawsuit here:
https://www.civilbeat.org/2026/04/lawsuit-maui-mayors-former-chief-of-staff-claims-whistleblower-retaliation

Here's how it connects to Chris Salem's wrongful termination lawsuit from  Erin Nolan's July piece in CB: 

"Council members also recommended spending up to $150,000 to hire Kobayashi Sugita & Goda to represent a county auditor in negotiations related to a Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs complaint filed in May by Christopher Salem, a Nāpili resident who worked for the county during Mayor Michael Victorino’s administration.

"Council members had previously agreed in 2024 to pay the Honolulu-based law firm up to $450,000 to defend the county against Salem’s allegations of wrongful termination and government corruption. The firm also represented the county in a 2021 lawsuit filed by Salem in Hawaiʻi’s Second Circuit Court on Maui, again taking over for Corporation Counsel to avoid any conflicts of interest.  

"According to the lawsuit, county officials including individuals from Corporation Counsel colluded with private developers to allow certain coastal building projects to circumvent some permitting requirements.

"Salem was fired by then-Mayor Victorino, Salem stated in the lawsuit, because he publicly shared details about that misconduct and blew the whistle on local government corruption.  The county has denied the allegations.

"In Salem’s May complaint, he accuses county Auditor Lance Taguchi of using his official position to shield evidence of unethical and unlawful conduct by county attorneys who participated in the alleged scheme laid out in his lawsuit."

This isn’t about politics.

It’s about whether our County government is willing to look at itself honestly—and whether we, as a community, are willing to insist on that.

The Charter gives the Council the power.

Now the question is whether they—and we—will use it.