Hawai‘i County Council
Candidate Podcasts 2026

Nā Leo TV is proud to present candidate podcasts ahead of the 2026 August Primary Election.

29 individuals are running for Hawai‘i County Council seats across nine districts. All were invited to participate in a 15-minute video podcast exploring governance and local issues. To ensure consistency and fairness, candidates were informed there were 11 questions to cover within the time limit — no questions were shared in advance. Of the 29 invited, 25 participated.

The following candidates declined or did not respond to multiple outreach attempts: Ren Del Rosario (CD1), Mark Henriques (CD7), and Edgar "Eddie-O" Ombac (CD7) declined; Dawn Kanealiʻi-Kleinfelder (CD5) did not respond.

About this election: Four seats are open — CD4, CD5, and CD7 members are term-limited, and the CD6 incumbent chose not to seek re-election. CD1, CD2, and CD3 incumbents face challengers, while CD8 and CD9 incumbents are running unopposed. To win outright in August, a candidate must secure 50% plus one vote; otherwise, the top two vote-getters advance to the November General Election runoff.

We encourage you to get to know the people running to represent you — and to vote.

Mahalo to our podcast hosts Makana Ripley and Cheryl Matsumura, and to the NLTV team: JE Orozco (production), Rianne Empaynado (graphics and production), Ann Toledo (community relations and logistics), Jeremy Kalima (social media), and Bill Maffit (website). We are grateful to offer our Hawaiʻi Island community this opportunity to hear directly from those asking for your vote, and mahalo to each candidate for sharing their time, their stories, and their manaʻo.