Candidate 2026 Summary

Hawa'i County Council

The HAA Candidate Summary helps voters compare Hawaiʻi County Council candidates based on their responses to the HAA Election Center 2026 Candidate Survey.

What HAA Stands For

Hawaiʻi Animal Advocacy supports humane, evidence-based, and accountable animal policy that protects animals, people, communities, and wildlife. Our work is grounded in the HAA Coexistence Framework, which calls for moving Hawaiʻi County away from unmanaged cat populations and toward structured, humane, measurable management.

For HAA, the choice is not “cats or wildlife.” The real choice is managed cats or unmanaged cats. Managed cat policy includes prevention, expanded spay/neuter access, TNR/TNRM where appropriate, community cat colony management, responsible caretaker standards, adoption pathways, One Health alignment, measurable outcomes, and protections for sensitive wildlife areas.

The candidate summary below shows how survey respondents align with this approach.

Candidates listed as Fully Aligned show strong support for managed cat policy.

Candidates listed as Partially Aligned support several humane-policy priorities but need more clarification on TNR familiarity, community cat colony management, or the broader Coexistence Framework.

Learn more: HAA Coexistence Framework

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NOTE: HAA’s Candidate Summary is provided for issue-based voter education. HAA’s assessments are based on candidate survey responses, follow-up clarification when provided, and HAA’s managed cat policy framework. This summary is not a partisan endorsement and is not intended to support or oppose any single candidate. Candidates who did not respond may submit a response or clarification, and HAA may update candidate pages as new information becomes available.

How HAA Assessed Candidate Survey Responses

HAA’s assessment is not based on political party, personality, or general campaign messaging. It is based on each candidate’s stated responses to the HAA Candidate Survey, with special attention to whether the candidate supports managed cat policy rather than leaving cat populations unmanaged.

For HAA, “managed cat policy” means structured, accountable, humane population management: prevention, expanded spay/neuter access, TNR/TNRM where appropriate, responsible community caretakers, outcome tracking, public accountability, adoption pathways, and protections for sensitive wildlife areas.

“Unmanaged cats” means the status quo: unfixed cats, abandoned animals, no monitoring, no responsible caretaker structure, no measurable outcomes, and policies that may push feeding underground without reducing population growth, disease risk, nuisance concerns, or wildlife conflict.

Fully Aligned

Fully Aligned candidates gave responses that strongly support HAA’s managed cat policy approach. These candidates generally rated humane treatment and One Health as extremely important, strongly supported spay/neuter access, showed strong familiarity with TNR/TNRM or humane community cat management, supported a major role for managed community cat programs, and supported measurable outcomes and community partnership.

Partially Aligned

Partially Aligned candidates showed meaningful support for humane treatment, spay/neuter access, accountability, and community partnership, but their responses raised questions about TNR familiarity, the role of managed community cat programs, or support for the broader Coexistence Framework. These candidates may become more aligned after further conversation or clarification.

No Survey Response

No Survey Response does not automatically mean a candidate does not care about cats or animal welfare. It means HAA does not have a completed survey response from that candidate to assess their position. Voters may wish to ask these candidates directly where they stand on humane, evidence-based cat population management, Bill 51, TNR/TNRM, and managed community cat programs.

"The central question is simple: Will Hawaiʻi County continue with unmanaged cat populations and reactive enforcement, or move toward humane, accountable, managed cat policy that protects animals, people, communities, and wildlife?"

Meet The Candidates

The following Hawaiʻi County Council candidates completed the HAA Election Center 2026 Candidate Survey.

Each candidate page includes the candidate snapshot, HAA assessment, actual survey responses, and candidate information.

These pages are provided for issue-based voter education. They are not formal endorsements of any single candidate and should not be represented as such.

Please see each candidate’s page to review their full HAA assessment, actual survey responses, and candidate comments.

FULLY ALIGNED

Ren Del Rosario - Hawaiʻi County Council District 1 - Hamakua

Candidate Summary 2026 - Hawa'i County Council