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Tasha Kama 

Candidate, Kahului Residency Seat, Maui County Council 

I am the 4th  of 11 children born to Reverend Clarence and Lei Kamai, whose genealogy is rooted in it’s faith, culture, language and traditions. 

My late husband and I are parents to 11 children, 33 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren. 

I have been an active participant in the Maui community for almost 40 years. In my early years, this begins with my role as the Assistant Pastor and then Senior Pastor (now retired) of the Christian Ministry Church; taking the lead in reviving the Iao Intermediate School PTSA; founding of the Waiohuli-Keokea Homestead Associations, and ongoing advocacy for Hawaiian Home Land beneficiaries. I’ve continued my work as a member of the National American Diabetes Association’s Awakening the Spirit Team, and later the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Island Working Group that focused on reducing the health disparities of indigenous and minority populations through education. I am also a proud supporter of our local Compacts of Free Association (COFA) community.  

I’ve also worked as a social justice organizer with Faith Action for Community Equity (FACE) Maui, served as a parent member on the Hawaii State Council on Developmental Disabilities, graduated from the University of Hawaii Maui College and in 2018 was elected to the Maui County Council, Kahului Residency seat.  

I presently serve as Chair of the Council's Housing and Land Use (HLU) Committee and Vice-Chair of Council's Budget, Finance, and Economic Development (BFED) Committee. 

The Maui County Council is a member of the National Association of Counties (NACo) a national organization representing the interests of the member county governments and their residents. NACo advocates for county priorities at the federal level, promotes exemplary county policies, assists in the development of leadership skills and increases collaboration between counties throughout our nation. Through those actions NACo meets its mission to strengthen America’s counties. 

For NACo, I serve as a member of the Finance Pension and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee (FPIGA). I also chair the FPIGA Subcommittee on Tribal-County Relations.  In this committee I meet with leaders within counties that share geographies with tribal nations to advocate on issues that impact our indigenous communities. As a member of FPIGA and one of the Maui County councilmembers involved in NACo, I have introduced two resolutions adopted by NACo. The first resolution advocates for increased federal support for local financial institutions, enabling community access to capital for business and housing development. The second resolution requests that the United States Military give greater deference to the concerns of our indigenous communities when planning for new or expanded facilities. 

Very recently, I became a founding member of the National Association of Native Leaders and Allies (NANCLA). NANCLA is a NACo Affiliate organization. The goal of NANCLA is to elevate awareness of national issues impacting our indigenous communities. My hope, along with the other founding members, is to establish an indigenous people's caucus within NACo to provide guidance on diverse county-related issues.