A new political action committee with ties to the carpenters union spent more than $290,000 this month to influence the outcome of three Maui County Council races, seats that could shape the future of development on an island on the brink of major rebuilding . effort.

For A Better Tomorrow, the new super PAC created less than two months ago, sent emails to Maui voters supporting the re-election of Tom Cook, Tasha Kama and Nohe U’u-Hodgins, who are seen as part of the program pro-development. majority in the council.

Cook faces former council member Kelly King on Nov. 5. Kama is running against Carol Lee Kamekona. U’u-Hodgins’ opponent is Nara Boone.

A loss for either incumbent would tip the balance in favor of a political faction on the council that has generally opposed large development projects and advocated for a greater share of affordable housing units.

For A Better Tomorrow also paid for advertising to support candidates on Kauai, Hawaii and in two legislative races, according to reports filed with the Hawaii Commission on Campaign Expenditures.

Known as Hawaii Independent Expenditure Committees, super PACs like For A Better Tomorrow have no limits on the amount of donations they are allowed to receive from a single source and no limitations on what what they can spend supporting or opposing political candidates.

The only condition is that the super PAC cannot coordinate its advertising with the candidates’ campaigns.

For A Better Tomorrow has financial support from the Hawaii Carpenters Market Recovery Program Fund, which is affiliated with the Pacific Resource Partnership. The fund gets its money from contractors who hire workers represented by the Hawaii Regional Council of Carpenters. The fund established For A Better Tomorrow with a Contribution of $7.6 million in September.

Groups tied to the carpenters union spent heavily in 2018 and 2022 to influence the governor and lieutenant governor races. Two years ago, those groups also started in county council races.

“Like many other working families, our members are deeply concerned about the future of our islands,” Sean Newcamp, president of For A Better Tomorrow, said in a written statement. “We want affordable housing, a living wage, retirement security and a quality of life that ensures Hawaii remains a place where we, our keiki and future generations can thrive.”

While there is generally consensus on things like Lahaina’s recovery efforts, the County Council tends to be more divided on how to approach new development projects.

The council is split between five members considered more pro-development and four others who run on a slate called Ohana candidates and tend to prioritize environmental protection, among other things.

Pro-development council members include Cook, Kama and U’u-Hodgins, as well as Yuki Lei Sugimura, who oversees county finances and chairs the council’s budget committee, and Council President Alice Lee.

Current Ohana candidates include Tamara Paltin, Keani Rawlins-Fernandez, Gabe Johnson and Shane Sinenci. Johnson and Sinenci are unopposed in the general election.

The Ohana Group took control of the council in 2018, but fell out of power in 2022 when Kelly King and Mike Molina left to run for mayor. In those years, concerns about the county’s use of injection wells and other environmental issues starkly illustrated the divide among board members.

Now, the divide is over the building.

“The main, contentious issue is development versus slower growth,” said Dick Mayer, a retired economics professor and longtime Maui political observer.

More buildings mean more jobs for carpenters and other construction industry professionals.

Keeping the status quo on the board could mean a smoother ride for developers going forward. If control goes to the Ohana group, new developments are more likely to meet resistance, and the council would be more likely to push developers for more affordable units, Mayer said.

For A Better Tomorrow paid more than $289,000 for ads endorsing Cook, Kama and U’u-Hodgins. Separately spent more than $80,000 on ads supporting Kama and Hawaii County Councilman Matt Kaneali’i-Kleinfelder, according to a report on electoral communications submitted on October 3.

On Maui, Kama was the biggest beneficiary of For A Better Tomorrow’s spending.

In 2022, she won the Kahului seat by just 9 percentage points over her opponent. It was one of the closest races that year.

Kama said she is happy for the support this election season.

“I was very grateful that the super PAC supported me,” Kama said. “Sometimes, you don’t know what they’re going to do from one day to the next.”

Many see Cook as vulnerable. He led former council member Kelly King by just 144 votes in the primary. Cook also said he was grateful for the support.

“I’m more of a carpenter than a politician,” he said.

Cook and Kama both said they feel developers and construction workers get a bad rap.

“People want us to build affordable homes for local people,” Cook said. “But the people really capable of doing it are criticized. I don’t understand.”

Most eyes were on Cook’s seat in South Maui. It is also the district where several large development projects are underway.

More than 6,400 units are slated for development in South Maui in the coming years, according to a community presentation by Mayer.

Residents angered by the lack of affordable units in these developments point to a project called Honuaula, formerly known as Wailea 670. Of the 1,150 units included in that development, 288 are planned to be affordable, in accordance with county codes that require 25 percent of new development to be set aside for workforce housing.

In Maui, affordable housing is defined as housing units for those who earn less than 140 percent of the area median income, which for a family of four comes to about $168,000 annually.

The council could require developers to produce more affordable units. It also has the power to approve zoning changes or community plan changes that are necessary for projects to move forward.

The council also appoints members to county boards, such as the planning commission, which makes recommendations to the council and mayor on development projects.

“Could it stop them from developing? I don’t know if I can,” Mike Moran, former president of Kihei Community AssociationOhana said of the candidates. “But I can slow it down, I can make it more challenging.”

While most super PAC spending has focused on pro-growth candidates, there is some outside support for Ohana candidates.

Super PAC Maui Pono Network spent $1,000 on ads supporting the Ohana list. The group reported raising $16,000 this electoral cycle, which started in 2022.

A group of mostly Maui residents also raised $13,500 to mail a “Save Maui Voting Guide” that, in addition to endorsing the Ohana slate, also supports Sen. Angus McKelvey and Reps. Terez Amato, Elle Cochran and Mahina Poepoe.

cMaui County’s ivil Beat coverage is supported in part by a grant from the Nuestro Futuro Foundation.

This story was supported with funding from the Data-Driven Reporting Project. The data-driven reporting project is funded by the Google News Initiative in partnership with Northwestern University | Medill.