Elmer Franklin Cravalho (February 19, 1926 – June 27, 2016) was an American politician and teacher. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, Cravalho served as the first

Mayor of Maui The Mayor of Maui County is the chief executive officer of the Maui County, Hawaii, County of Maui in the U.S. state, state of Hawaii. The Mayor has municipal jurisdiction over the islands of Kahoolawe, Lanai, Maui and Molokai. The Mayor of Maui ...

from 1969 to 1979 and the first

Speaker of the Hawaii House of Representatives The Speaker of the Hawaii House of Representatives is the speaker (politics), speaker (speaker (politics), presiding officer) of the Hawaii House of Representatives. Territorial House of Representatives After statehood References

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following statehood. Cravalho was the descendant of

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

immigrants who settled in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. Born in

Paia, Hawaii Pā'ia ( haw, Pāia ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Maui County, Hawaii, United States, on the northern coast of the island of Maui. The population was 2,470 at the 2020 census. Pā'ia is home to several restaurants, art galleries, sur ...

, Cravalho received his bachelor's degree in education from

University of Hawaii A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

, in 1947. He taught school and was a school principal. Later, he was in the insurance and banking business. He was also involved with the credit union movement, farming, and ranching. Cravalho began his political career in 1955 as a member of Hawaii's territorial House of Representatives. He served as the first House Speaker (1959–1967) following statehood, a delegate to the

1960 Democratic National Convention The 1960 Democratic National Convention was held in Los Angeles, California, on July 11–15, 1960. It nominated Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts for president and Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas for vice president. In ...

Maui The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, which ...

mayor and chairman of the Maui Board of Water Supply. Much of Maui's development can be traced to Cravalho's term as mayor. In the 1970s, he was responsible for developing the waterline from

Wailuku Wailuku is a census-designated place (CDP) in and county seat of Maui County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 17,697 at the 2020 census. Wailuku is located just west of Kahului, at the mouth of the Iao Valley. In the early 20th centur ...

Wailea Wailea is a census-designated place (CDP) in Maui County, Hawaii, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 6,027. Prior to 2010, the area was part of the Wailea-Makena census-designated place. The community was developed in 1 ...

, which enabled the development of

Kihei Kihei ( haw, Kīhei, ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Maui County, Hawaii, Maui County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 21,423 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Geography Kihei is located at (20.759122, −156.45722 ...

. Cravalho had a part in the formation of Maui Economic Opportunity Inc., a private, nonprofit organization chartered in 1965 to help low-income elderly, children and youth, persons with disabilities, immigrants, other disadvantaged people and the general public to help themselves. Cravalho left office suddenly in 1979, just months after winning re-election for a second term in the 1978 election. Democrat

Hannibal Tavares Hannibal M. Tavares (September 24, 1919 – January 17, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 2nd Mayor of Maui from October 1979 until January 2, 1991. He was the longest-serving mayor of Maui. Life Tavares was born in Makawao, Ma ...

won a special election in October 1979 to complete the remainder of Cravalho's term. Cravalho died on June 27, 2016.Elmer Cravalho, Maui's mayor, dies
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References

1926 births 2016 deaths People from Paia, Hawaii University of Hawaiʻi alumni Businesspeople from Hawaii Educators from Hawaii Mayors of Maui County Speakers of the Hawaii House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the Hawaii House of Representatives Members of the Hawaii Territorial Legislature 20th-century American politicians American people of Portuguese descent 20th-century American businesspeople {{Hawaii-mayor-stub