Dripping Faucet Turns to Fire Hose as Lahaina Strong Leaders Register Again as Our Hawaii Lobbyists and Continue the Grift Amid Eroding Community Support
Anyone that follows Maui and Hawaii politics is familiar with the paid lobbying group that commandeered the name Lahaina Strong. Jordan Ruidas, a primary leader of Lahaina Strong has twice registered Lahaina Strong as a trade name for her defunct for-profit LLC forecasting her continued intent to monetize the community’s suffering by bogarting the name. While Lahaina Strong claims to represent the Lahaina community, front man Paele Kiakona expressed frustration that the local community is not loving Lahaina Strong.
If the Lahaina and Maui community is pushing back on Lahaina Strong’s agenda, this author must ask, who exactly does Lahaina Strong represent?
Increasingly, community-based recovery efforts following a disaster begin calling the recovery effort “[NAME OF COMMUNITY] Strong.” Rarely, however, do these community efforts raise money for dark money political action that filters back to the organizers as paid lobbyists. Lahaina Strong now calls the Oahu-based political action committee named Our Hawaii, daddy as a “project” of Our Hawaii.
Before we jump in, a little background on the players in this game is necessary for context.
Who is Behind Our Hawaii Action?
Our Hawaii was founded by Mark “Kaniela” Ing and Evan Weber in 2021. Weber is a self-proclaimed political mastermind that claims to have “helped shape the climate platforms of almost every major presidential candidate, served as a strategist and advisor for dozens of candidates for office, as a national presidential surrogate for Bernie Sanders, and architected the come-from-behind US Senate runs of Ed Markey in Massachusetts and Charles Booker in Kentucky.” Evan Weber | Evergreen Action.
Weber admitted his intent to form “dark money” 501(c)(4) groups that do not disclose the identity of donors or the final distributions of the organization. This Hawaii Super PAC Says It's Raising Money For Wildfire Victims — And Political Candidates Too - Honolulu Civil Beat. Weber has described Our Hawaii as a “political movement” that intends to use money to influence elections. Evan Weber | Evergreen Action.
Mark Ing, who routinely drops his colonizer name and goes by Kaniela, is a former Hawaii State Representative that fell from grace after numerous allegations and findings of falsifying campaign finance records. Campaign Spending Commission Fines Kaniela Ing Another $18,000; see also Former Maui Rep Cited For Another Campaign Spending Violation - Honolulu Civil Beat. Civil Beat reported that “Commission staff also identified over 150 expenditures in the amended reports that may have been for Ing’s personal use. The “questionable expenditures” include for food and beverages, vehicle fuel, taxi and ride shares, car rentals, cellphones and other electronics, and travel.” Kaniela Ing Faces More Charges Of Campaign Spending Violations - Honolulu Civil Beat.
Ing, now largely a political pariah in Hawaii, moved from Maui to Oahu and shifted his focus to national political advocacy for the Democratic Socialists of America’s agenda including founding an organization called the Green New Deal Network and appointing himself as executive director. See Green New Deal Network. When not on social media regurgitating socialist ideology that other politicians have developed, Ing travels the world on lavish vacations consuming in a manner wholly inconsistent with his message, with an unknown source of funds, and while the people he claims to advocate for suffer.
The Executive Director of Our Hawaii is Nadine Ortega. Despite handling over $600k in 2023, Our Hawaii told the IRS that Ortega spends just 1 hour per work working for Our Hawaii.
Our Hawaii, with Ortega at the helm, formed a spinoff organization called Tagnawa and appointed Ortega as executive director. Tagnawa does not appear to have formed an entity or filed any documentation with the Hawaii State Attorney General to raise funds. Tagnawa has not disclosed whether Ortega takes a salary. Our Hawaii spent $27,130.19 starting new organizations, including Tagnawa.
Maui County Community Power Recovery Fund
Our Hawaii also owns the domain www.mauirecoveryfund.org that feeds all proceeds to Our Hawaii which is easily mistakeable with official Maui County recovery website www.mauirecovers.org.
How Much Money Has Our Hawaii Raised and What Has It Done With It?
Determining the exact amounts raised and distributed is a mystery with Our Hawaii because none of the numbers reported to different sources match up. Our Hawaii raises funds through many different online sources including the Our Hawaii website, through the Lahaina Strong social media donation links, and at in-person events. The inability to determine how Our Hawaii uses the money raised is a great example of the dysfunction of dark money politics and so called “social welfare” organizations.
According to tax returns published on the Hawaii Attorney General’s website, Our Hawaii has historically handled relatively small amounts of money until 2023. In 2021, Our Hawaii raised $184,191. In 2022, Our Hawaii raised just $16,134 but reported expenses of $114,601.
In 2022, Weber took compensation of $40,032 for working just 5 hours per week.
Also in 2022, Our Hawaii shifted $41,410 to a different entity controlled by Weber called Our Hawaii PAC which is a noncandidate committee that attempts to influence elections.
Neither Weber nor Our Hawaii PAC have disclosed any details regarding what they did with that money.
Just 2 days after the August 8, 2023 fires, Our Hawaii opportunistically set up the Maui Community Power Recovery fund.
Our Hawaii then experienced nearly a 4000% increase in donations from 2022 to 2023 with $624,879 of contributions and $242,879 in expenses.
Our Hawaii’s website says they have only raised $571,072.21 as of June 30, 2024 which is inconsistent with what Our Hawaii told the IRS in the 2023 tax return.
Our Hawaii paid $85,431 in salaries and wages in 2023
Since Our Hawaii’s tax return only had to disclose officer salaries, and Our Hawaii claims to have paid officers nothing in 2023, the recipients and amounts of these wages are unclear.
Additionally, Our Hawaii told the IRS that it only spent $21,000 in 2023 on lobbying.
In late 2023, Lahaina Strong leaders registered as lobbyists. The amount of lobbyist payments for 2023 disclosed by Our Hawaii in the Hawaii State Ethics Commission reports is inconsistent with amounts reported by Our Hawaii’s to the IRS.
Lahaina Strong continued to solicit donations in 2024 under the guise that funds would go to direct community support when in fact the funds went to Our Hawaii Action’s political endeavors which included paying more than $50,000 of disclosed compensation Lahaina Strong individuals as lobbyists.
Weber told Civil Beat “over 75% on direct aid to impacted survivors including immigrant populations unable to receive federal funds.” See This Hawaii Super PAC Says It's Raising Money For Wildfire Victims — And Political Candidates Too - Honolulu Civil Beat. Our Hawaii’s website provides a breakdown of the organization’s claimed use of funds that shows just $33,480, or about 5% of the more than $600,000 raised went to immediate and direct community relief. Weber’s representation to Civil Beat about 75% of funds raised going to direct community support is not corroborated by any documentation made available by Our Hawaii.
Our Hawaii admits to paying $255,497.45 to Lahaina Strong although there is no transparency regarding how that large amount of money has been deployed by Lahaina Strong that operates primarily over social media and through low-key events.
Hawaii News Now and Civil Beat both investigated Our Hawaii’s use of donation proceeds, questioning whether the organization was being forthcoming about the fact that donations would be used for political action as opposed to the disclosed purpose of providing direct community relief. Controversy over politically-linked Maui donation fund prompts call for transparency; This Hawaii Super PAC Says It's Raising Money For Wildfire Victims — And Political Candidates Too - Honolulu Civil Beat.
Unfortunately, deceitful fundraising has become more common after disasters leading the Hawaii legislature to pass new legislation regarding charitable fraud. Former House Speaker Scott Saiki told Hawaii News Now that he was concerned about the lack of transparency with some post-fire fundraising efforts and that he requested that the Governor take immediate action to investigate.
Controversy over politically-linked Maui donation fund prompts call for transparency
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation:
Charity fraud scams can come to you in many forms: emails, social media posts, crowdfunding platforms, cold calls, etc. Always use caution and do your research when you're looking to donate to charitable causes
Charity and Disaster Fraud — FBI
The Federal Trade Commission also cautioned consumers that “[s]cammers and dishonest businessperson[s] can set up crowdfunding campaigns to raise money for themselves.” Donating Through Crowdfunding, Social Media, and Fundraising Platforms | Consumer Advice
There are far too many inconsistencies in Our Hawaii’s and Lahaina Strong’s various reports to ignore and these inconsistencies raise serious concerns about the lack of transparency and whether these individuals are profiting from the disaster under the pretext of community organizing. Maui Strong, a legitimate organization that is completely independent of Lahaina Strong and Our Hawaii, demonstrates a starkly contrasting example of genuine transparency and accountability. See 2024_Maui-Strong-Fund-One-Year-FACT-SHEET.pdf.
Ing Teaches the Next Generation How to Monetize the Movement and Increases Donations for Political Activity by 4000%
Mark Ing introduced Paele Kiakona to the world of dark money political fundraising and living off the movement.
Controversy over politically-linked Maui donation fund prompts call for transparency
Ing got Lahaina Strong set up to solicit donations in person at the Fishing for Housing encampment on Kaanapali Beach and online through social media. All those donations actually went to Our Hawaii Action.
After receiving substantial community criticism and questions, Our Hawaii brokered a deal with the State Democracy Project to enable Lahaina Strong to begin receiving tax deductible donations. Our Sponsored Projects — State Democracy Project. It is unclear whether Lahaina Strong has received any tax-deductible donations or how any donations were deployed.
Our Hawaii recently filed reports with the Hawaii State Ethics Commission claiming that Our Hawaii made no payments to Lahaina Strong individuals from May 2024 through December of 2024.
Weber filed the reports, acknowledging the following:
In an emotional and defensive Instagram rant, Kiakona admitted that Lahaina Strong leaders were in fact still receiving regular payments as of December 2024, despite the organization filing $0 reports with the Hawaii State Ethics Commission.
For any readers concerned with the potential discrepancies between Our Hawaii’s official reports and Kiakona’s admissions, the Hawaii State Ethics Commission does allow anonymous reporting of concerns. See Hawai‘i State Ethics Commission | Report an Ethics Violation.
Lahaina Strong Registers as Maui County Lobbyists
In late 2024, Lahaina Strong individuals filed paperwork to become registered lobbyists with Maui County.
The Maui County Board of Ethics considered these lobbyist applications on August 14, 2024 at a regularly scheduled meeting. The only testimony provided was in opposition to the Board approving these lobbyists based on the lack of transparency in fundraising efforts, questionable use of proceeds, and concerning affiliations with Maui County elected officials.
The Board of Ethics claimed that it has no authority to evaluate the substance of lobbyist applications, and that the Board’s only authority is to review the applications for completeness. Based on that qualification, the Board approved the applications. Maui County does not require County lobbyists to file public reports that identify the amount of money received. By registering at the County level, Lahaina Strong lobbyists established a dark option for receiving lobbyist payments without the prying eyes of the community disrupting the payroll.
Lahaina Strong Lobbyists Register Again for 2025 State Legislative Session
On January 30, 2025, three Lahaina Strong leaders again registered as lobbyists with the Hawaii State Ethics Commission.
For 2025, you will see a new face drinking from the Our Hawaii trough with the addition of former Kimo’s burger slinger, Katie Austin.
Kiakona and Ruidas are back for more but Courtney Lazo appears to be sitting this one out. Perhaps Lazo’s booty growth, dog breeding, fast fashion clothing, or meditation businesses have taken off and she no longer needs that sweet Our Hawaii nectar.
Our Hawaii is not legally required to file reports showing how much Kiakona, Ruidas and Austin are taking home from state lobbying until March 31, 2025. The March report will show lobbyists payments for January through February of 2025. Even then, we won’t have a full picture of how much these individuals are making in total because Lahaina Strong leaders appear to receive funds that they consider outside the purview of the Hawaii State Ethics Commission, and thus, outside of the public arena. Someone has to pay for those trips to Japan and the butter beers.
So long as the money keeps flowing, this author predicts we will be seeing a lot more of Lahaina Strong and Our Hawaii in the 2025 legislative session although it is uncertain who exactly Lahaina Strong is advocating for with the local community becoming increasingly aware and offended by the manner that these organizations raise and spend money.