“I’m looking for a team that’s got my kind of energy, that’s connected to the community.” Kimo Alameda — a political newcomer who took a decisive victory over incumbent Mayor Mitch Roth in the election Tuesday and will become Hawaii County’s chief executive on Dec. 2 — said Wednesday that finding and assembling that team will be a priority.
The 55-year-old Alameda holds a doctorate in counseling psychology. The former CEO of Bay Clinic, he’s served as the leader of the Fentanyl Task Force. He also was executive of the county’s Office of Aging under former mayors Harry Kim and the late Billy Kenoi.
When all the votes were in, Alameda beat Roth 44,087 to 35,518, or 55.4% to 44.6%.
“We were surprised,” Roth said Wednesday of his opponent’s victory. “We expected the night to go differently, but it is what it is.” Roth had the larger campaign war chest, by more than $100,000, and had spent more than $75,000 more than the challenger.
Alameda, however, had the backing of the two major public workers unions, the white-collar Hawaii Government Employees Association and the blue-collar United Public Workers, who endorsed the challenger because Roth wouldn’t authorize COVID-19 hazard pay for public workers during the pandemic, citing fiscal grounds. The 60-year-old Roth thinks that’s a major factor in the election outcome, adding that he’s in arbitration with the unions and has made settlement offers to both. “I look back and that, and I think the r.
