Maui Economic Director’s Business Associate Got Contracts From Her County Office

The Maui County economic development director under investigation by county officials for possible conflicts of interest played a role in awarding more than $200,000 in grants to a business associate, records reviewed by Civil Beat show.

Luana Mahi, the county economic development director, was formerly the president of the Maui Food Technology Center.

Linn Nishikawa served for four years on the volunteer board of directors of the center, alongside Mahi. When Mahi left the nonprofit to become Maui’s economic development director in 2023, Nishikawa became the vice president of the food center.

During that same time, a different company run by Nishikawa has received more than $200,000 in grants and contracts from Mahi’s office.

Mahi did not respond to a request for comment.

Nishikawa said she had already been a county contractor for 20 years when Mahi became economic development director and that Mahi was not involved in the selection process.

“There’s no guarantees we get anything,” she said.

But Mahi wrote in support of a no-bid contract and recommended approval of another $190,000 contract for Nishikawa’s company.

There’s no evidence that the contract and grant awards benefited Mahi financially, the basis of a legal conflict of interest.

But the Maui Board of Ethics in July found a conflict of interest in a grant to the same nonprofit, the Maui Food Technology Center, because some of the grant money went to pay Mahi’s spouse. The board also found that grants issued during Mahi’s tenure went to a nonprofit run by her son.

Mayor Richard Bissen placed Mahi on paid leave Aug. 20 amid an ongoing review of grants issued by her office.

Nishikawa said that Mahi, after becoming economic development director, was sensitive to the possible perception that she might favor organizations she had connections to. Mahi told the food technology center’s board that it might not get as many county grants because of that view, Nishikawa said.

Likewise, Nishikawa said that Mahi recused herself from contracts and grants involving her company, Linn Nishikawa & Associates.

“Luana never reviews them, actually,” Nishikawa said. “She can’t score it, not allowed to vote on it. She had to recuse herself on every one.”

Maui’s Finance Department did not respond to questions about the evaluation of Nishikawa’s contracts.

But the contracts and supporting documentation including records showing Mahi’s involvement are publicly available on the county’s website. Nishikawa also provided documents bearing Mahi’s signature.

The grants and contracts that Nishikawa’s company won from Mahi’s office involved several websites and business promotion efforts that the county began during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In April 2023, Mahi signed off on a $24,999 contract to Nishikawa’s company to broaden the scope of the county’s Maui Nui Strong website to go beyond just Covid-19 programs and include other county grant resources.

“I wanted to continue to use them so we would not have to start from scratch to recreate everything,” Mahi wrote in a request to the finance department to exempt the contract from competitive procurement.

Nishikawa said that contract compensated her company for work related to a grant her company would win later that year.

In December, the economic development office awarded Nishikawa’s business a grant of at least $100,000, according to a list of awards sent to the Maui County Council in February.

Her company was paid $45,000 from that grant as of Feb. 29, according to the most recent data publicly available. She said it was for work on the Maui Nui Strong and Maui Nui First websites, as well as running the Kamaaina First Facebook group that promotes local businesses.

This year, Linn Nishikawa & Associates won another contract from Mahi’s office.

In March, the economic development office opened a formal solicitation for management of the Maui Nui Strong and Maui Nui First websites. Work also included creating a new website for the county’s Office of Innovation and Sustainability.

Mahi was listed as the contact person for potential bidders and her signature appears on the contract recommending approval of Nishikawa’s company. The finance director signed off on it.

The $190,000 contract runs through June 30.

Civil Beat’s coverage of Maui County is supported in part by a grant from the Nuestro Futuro Foundation.