Blaine Bautista
Hawaiʻi County Council District 2 - Downtown Hilo
Candidate Questionnaire Status: RESPONDED
Blaine Bautista completed the HAA Election Center 2026 Candidate Survey. His response shows strong support for humane treatment, prevention, spay/neuter access, One Health, public accountability, and community partnership. HAA rates him as Partially Aligned because he selected Moderate Role, rather than Major Role, for managed community cat programs.
Voter Education Notice: HAA’s Election Center, Candidate Summary, candidate snapshots, and candidate pages are provided for issue-based voter education. They are based on candidate survey responses, follow-up clarification when provided, and HAA’s assessment of alignment with humane, accountable managed cat policy. They are not formal single-candidate endorsements and should not be represented as such.
1. HAA Candidate Snapshot
2. HAA Assessment
Managed Cat Policy Alignment: Partially Aligned
Blaine Bautista’s survey response demonstrates strong support for humane, prevention-based animal policy. He rated humane treatment and the One Health perspective as Extremely Important, strongly favors prevention and education, strongly supports expanded access to low-cost or free spay/neuter services, strongly agrees that government-funded programs should demonstrate measurable outcomes and public accountability, and believes community organizations and volunteers should play a Major Role in helping address county challenges.
HAA rates Bautista as Partially Aligned because his response is supportive in most areas, but less clear on the central managed-cat policy question. He indicated that he is Familiar with TNR and other humane community cat management programs, but selected only a Moderate Role for managed community cat programs in Hawaiʻi County.
This distinction matters because HAA’s Coexistence Framework is built on moving Hawaiʻi County away from unmanaged cat populations and toward structured, accountable, humane management. Managed community cat programs are not the entire solution, but they are a core part of a successful humane population-management strategy when paired with spay/neuter access, adoption pathways, responsible caretakers, public accountability, and protections for sensitive wildlife areas.
HAA views Bautista’s response as promising but incomplete. His answers show clear support for humane treatment, prevention, spay/neuter access, One Health, accountability, and community partnership. However, additional clarification is needed to understand whether he supports managed community cat programs as a major part of Hawaiʻi County’s approach, including TNR/TNRM where appropriate.
HAA Takeaway
Blaine Bautista supports humane, prevention-based animal policy, spay/neuter access, One Health, accountability, and community partnership, while indicating only moderate support for managed community cat programs.
Overall assessment: Partially Aligned — Needs clarification on managed cat policy.
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