Alan Arakawa
{{short description|5th and 7th Mayor of Maui}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Alan Arakawa
| image=Mayor Alan Arakawa.jpg
| order=
| office = 5th and 7th Mayor of Maui
| term_start = January 2, 2011
| term_end = January 3, 2019
| predecessor = Charmaine Tavares
| successor = Mike Victorino
| term_start2 = January 2, 2003
| term_end2 = January 2, 2007
| predecessor2 = James "Kimo" Apana
| successor2 = Charmaine Tavares
| birth_date= {{birth year and age|1951}}
| birth_place={{nowrap|Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii}}, U.S.
| alma_mater=University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
| profession=Politician
| residence=
| spouse=Ann Arakawa
| children=2
| religion=
| party=Democratic{{cite news|url=http://mauiwatch.com/2017/02/arakawa-now-a-democrat/|title= Arakawa now a Democrat|work=Maui Watch|date=2 February 2017|access-date=28 June 2017}}
Republican (formerly)
}}
Alan M. Arakawa (born 1951) is an American politician who served as the fifth and seventh mayor of the County of Maui in Hawaii.{{cite web|url=http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=13435013|title=Arakawa defeats Tavares in race for Maui Mayor|publisher=Hawaii News Now|date=3 November 2010|access-date=20 November 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306012154/http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=13435013|archive-date=6 March 2012|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}{{cite web |url=http://www.gisuser.com/content/view/2844/ |title=GISUser.com - Maui County Taps DigitalGlobe Satellite Imagery for County-Wide Applications |access-date=2010-03-15}}
Education
Arakawa graduated from Maui High School and attended the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa as a business major.{{cite web|url=http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/hfc/speaker.asp|title=Hawaii Floriculture Conference|website=University of Hawaii at Manoa|access-date=21 July 2016}}
Career
In 1984, Arakawa entered civil service as a wastewater plant worker for Maui County and eventually was promoted to supervisor in the wastewater division of the Maui County Department of Public Works. Arakawa also represented labor unions, serving as a United Public Workers chief steward and a Hawaii Government Employees Association union representative. He served on the Maui County Council in 1994, 1996, and 2000.
=Elections=
==2002 mayoral election==
Arakawa first ran for mayor in 2002. After placing second in the September 21, 2002 primary behind former Maui mayor Kimo Apana, Arakawa won the general election with 20,887 votes (50.3%).{{cite web|url=http://files.hawaii.gov/elections/files/results/2002/primary/com.pdf|title=Open Primary Elections 2002|date=September 22, 2002}}
==2006 mayoral election==
In 2006, Arakawa ran for reelection. In the primaries he faced Apana again and city councilmember Charmaine Tavares, daughter of the late mayor Hannibal Tavares. In the primary, he trailed Tavares by about 100 votes. In the general election, he was defeated by Tavares.
==2010 mayoral election==
On June 18, 2010, Arakawa filed to run for the Mayor of Maui County. He placed second in the mayoral primary election on September 18, 2010. Incumbent mayor Charmaine Tavares narrowly won the primary election with 7,307 votes, or 25.4% of the total.{{cite news|first=Brian|last=Perry |title=Tavares' strength in Central Maui; Arakawa strongholds in South and West Maui |url=http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/540731/Tavares--strength-in-Central-Maui--Arakawa-strongholds-in-South-and-West-Maui.html?nav=10 |work=Maui News |date=2010-09-20|access-date=2010-09-24}} She defeated Arakawa by just 268 votes. Arakawa earned 7,039 votes, or 24.4% of the vote. Arakawa won 23 of Maui's 39 election precincts, mostly in South and West Maui, while Tavares won 11 precincts in Central Maui.
Both Tavares and Arakawa qualified for the 2010 mayoral general election on November 2, 2010. The race was a rematch of the 2006 mayoral election, in which incumbent mayor Arakawa was defeated by Tavares.{{cite news|first=Gary T.|last=Kabuto|title=Maui mayor's race shaping up to be a re-match|url=http://www.staradvertiser.com/elections/2010/primary/Maui_mayors_race_shaping_up_to_be_a_re-match.html|work=Honolulu Star-Advertiser |date=2010-09-18|access-date=2010-09-24| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100922191523/http://www.staradvertiser.com/elections/2010/primary/Maui_mayors_race_shaping_up_to_be_a_re-match.html| archive-date= 22 September 2010 | url-status= live}}{{cite news|first=Mari-Ela|last=David|title=Tavares, Arakawa to square off in General Election|url=http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=13178929|work=Maui News|date=2010-09-19|access-date=2010-09-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100922171438/http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=13178929|archive-date=22 September 2010|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}} In the final vote tally, Arakawa defeated Tavares with nearly 59% of the vote to her 41%.
==2014 mayoral election==
In the general election on November 4, 2014, Arakawa won reelection with 25,435 votes (55.3%) over Tam Paltin.{{cite web|url=http://files.hawaii.gov/elections/files/results/2014/general/com.pdf|title=General elections 2014 final summary report|date=November 5, 2014}}
==2018 election==
In May 2017, Arakawa announced he would run for lieutenant governor of Hawaii. But in November 2017, he changed course and said he would instead run for his former seat on the Maui County Council representing Kahului.{{cite news |last1=Eppin |first1=Jamilia |title=Arakawa Changes Course, Now Running for Kahului Council Seat |url=https://mauiwatch.com/2017/11/arakawa-changes-course-now-running-kahului-council-seat/ |access-date=22 October 2019 |work=Maui Watch |date=8 November 2017}}
In the August 11 primary, Arakawa received 11,790 votes, second to community organizer Natalie "Tasha" Kama's 12,712 votes.{{cite news |last1=Sugidono |first1=Chris |title=Arakawa seeks old council seat |url=https://www.mauinews.com/news/local-news/2018/10/arakawa-seeks-old-council-seat/ |access-date=22 October 2019 |date=28 October 2018}} Arakawa lost to Kama in the November 6 general election by nearly 11,000 votes.{{cite news |last1=Russo |first1=Tommy |title=Councilmember Tasha Kama Flexes: Vote to confirm Wong signals independence |url=https://mauitime.com/news/politics/councilmember-tasha-kama-flexes-vote-to-confirm-wong-signals-independence/ |access-date=22 October 2019 |work=Maui Time |date=27 February 2019}}
Personal life
Arakawa is married to Ann Arakawa, assistant professor of mathematics at the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College. They have two daughters, Jan and Jodi.
References
External links
- [http://www.co.maui.hi.us/ County of Maui, Hawai'i]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arakawa, Alan}}
Category:20th-century Hawaii politicians
Category:21st-century Hawaii politicians
Category:Mayors of Maui County
Category:Maui County Council members
Category:American mayors of Japanese descent