GARY KUBOTA / GKUBOTA@STARBULLETIN.COM Wayne Nishiki, who is leaving the Maui County Council, plans to continue to operate his farmer's markets in Kihei and Honokowai. Above, he poses with a customer.

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Nishiki finishes
Council run

Environmental issues were vital
to him in his 22-year career

KIHEI, Maui » Dressed in a T-shirt, shorts, and a muddied sneakers, Wayne Nishiki walks about his outdoor produce market in south Maui, looking more like a farmer than a Maui County councilman.

Make that former councilman.

As of today, his 22 years on the job officially comes to an end.

"I'm going to miss it," said Nishiki, who hasn't discounted running again for elected office.

While quite a few in the construction industry are glad about his political departure, many other people will miss him, especially environmentalists.

Despite two drunken driving convictions and a reputation for not returning telephone calls, Nishiki has never been defeated running for office as a councilman. He left because of a 1992 Charter provision preventing a councilmember from serving more than five consecutive full terms.

His legislative aide, Michelle Anderson, endorsed by Nishiki, assumes his seat on the council.

Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa proclaimed a Wayne Nishiki Day last month. Nishiki has been one of the few, if any, council members who has been a vegetarian and spends his recreational time swimming and surfing rather than golfing.

He's also one of the few elected officials who switched successfully from being a Democrat to a Republican.

He made the switch after being censored and getting kicked out of the Democratic Party for endorsing close friend Rick Reed, who was running as a Republican for the state Senate, he said.

Nishiki said one of the reasons for his longevity has been his political independence.

"People want to see people independent, not controlled by groups or unions," he said. "That's the reason why I was elected. People want to keep government honest and open ... I returned a lot of campaign contributions because I didn't want to be beholden to corporations and large landowners."

One of his major roles on the Council has been as an advocate for open space and public beach access.

Nishiki, who operates farmer's markets in Kihei and Honokowai, said he always felt that a balance needs to be struck between business and the environment on Maui so that the Valley Isle continues to have appeal to visitors and residents.

"It's important to look at both aspects and how you want to mold Maui," he said.

A 1962 graduate of Kalani High School, Nishiki came to the Valley Isle in the early 1970s to conduct a surfing survey for the group "Save Our Surf," then decided to stay. He's single now, but has been married twice and has six children ranging in age from 22 to 34.

He once operated a health food store and senior citizen's farmers market in Wailuku and was a partner in a farm in Haiku, growing alfalfa sprouts.

He ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor and also for mayor in the 1970s.

Nishiki said in his early years, he was a student of all kinds of meditation, including yoga.

"It just made me become a sensitive environmentalist," he said. Asked about his consumption of alcohol, he said, "I hardly drink at all now."