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Kahekai “Kai” Nishiki, 48, has earned a reputation as a West Maui community activist on issues related to the environment, planning and housing, to name a few.
The Lahaina resident is the oldest of 10 children. Her
father, Wayne Nishiki, was a Maui politician best known as an outspoken member of the Maui County Council whose career spanned more than 20 years.
“I was always tagging along to meetings with my dad — Save our Surf, the battle over the airport expansion and other things like that,” Nishiki said.
She recalled those days as “intense, controversial times that brought out energy and passion.” But, Nishiki added, “It was difficult to live your life in the public eye, difficult
to cope with negative publicity, difficult to see my dad
attacked.”
As an adult she ran for the County Council seat that
included Haiku residency in 2008 and 2010, and lost both times.
“Perhaps losing those races was the best thing that could have happened because it allowed me to pursue my real
interest, which is community service,” Nishiki said.
While she sees value in the high-profile, confrontational tactics employed by her father, her own style is lower-key, more reasoned and persuasive.
Nishiki said her career as an activist began many years ago in Honokowai when her children were young and a security guard at one of the beachfront properties tried to shoo them off the beach, telling them, “You don’t belong here.”
That encounter started a long chain of events to preserve public shoreline access that continues to the present. Today Nishiki is pretty much a full-time volunteer. She frequently gives testimony, attends meetings, livestreams video from public events and posts widely on social media.
One of her most notable achievements in the social media category is the Facebook group “Access Denied,” which zeroes in on situations, mainly along Maui’s coastlines, that require attention and action.
Nishiki said that due to “health issues” she is “taking a break” from her work in the family farmers market business to concentrate on a variety of volunteer activities. She chairs the West Maui Community Plan Advisory Committee, a group concerned with the future growth of the region.
She is also active in Na Papa‘i Wawae ‘Ula‘ula, an organization that strives to protect the West Maui shoreline and Native Hawaiian practices. In June Na Papa‘i and other concerned groups reached a settlement to restore public access to several trails along the Napili shoreline.
As president of the West Maui Preservation Association, Nishiki was recognized as a leader in community negotiations that helped revive and expand the long-stalled 310-acre West Maui Pulelehua housing and commercial development. The state Land Use Commission credited community engagement with producing an agreement that might help move the project forward.
Nishiki said she sees her role as “representing the needs of our residents” over the demands of would-be developers, tourism and business interests.
“The ocean, the beach don’t have a voice,” she said. “It is imperative that we be that voice.
“Once you have kids it hits you even more. You want to leave it better, make Maui a place your kids and grandkids can grow up.” She reiterated, “It’s time to put more emphasis on the residents’ quality of life.
“The work we’re doing is not about me; I’m uncomfortable talking about myself. I am only one of many. It’s not about me; it’s about working together.”
One hopeful sign she sees is “a greater receptiveness to changing the ways things are done, less reliance on the status quo. Admitting that there’s a problem, that’s the first step.” At the other extreme, she finds “the slow pace of action on housing, climate change and sea level rise extremely frustrating.”
Commenting on a shift in her own attitude, she said, “It’s not about being against things. It’s important to really try to fight for something positive, look for solutions, for compromise. It’s critical to find ways to work together, to look for the win-win situations.”
In her private life Nishiki is the mother of three — Jake, 20, Micah, 19, and Taylor, 17 — and was for many years active in the family business, Farmer’s Market Maui, a vegetable market and deli in Honokowai. She is well known as the baker of its signature banana bread.
Nishiki also has a soft spot for animals and shares her home with four dogs, two cats and two turtles.
As for any potential political aspirations, Nishiki said she has no plans to run for office and feels she can be more productive and effective in her current capacity as an activist volunteer without incurring the expense and stress of a political campaign.
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