Mitch Roth has taken office as Hawaii County’s new mayor.
The two-term county prosecutor was inaugurated at a virtual event in Kailua-Kona on Dec. 7. The inauguration was closed to the public and guests due to the pandemic.
He was the first mayor inaugurated on the west side of the island. Since 1969, all inaugurations had been held in Hilo.
During the inauguration, Roth revealed that his son, who lives in California, was not able to join the event because he tested positive for COVID-19.
Roth commended the Safe Travels Program, a protocol for all travelers entering the state and requires health and travel information for the safety of residents and visitors.
“I really appreciate that we have Safe Travels. If not, he would’ve come last week and I would’ve started to feel the feeling of the sickness and I appreciate that being there and sometimes we’re going to make decisions that people won’t like, but are actually done for the right reasons,” Roth told Hawaii News Now.
Balancing health and safety with the economy is the challenge, according to Roth. He encourages the community to work together to fight and control the pandemic.
On Nov. 3, Roth defeated community organizer Ikaika Marzo to replace Harry Kim, a three-term mayor and the Hawaii County civil defense head for 32 years. Kim was mayor from 2000-08 and again from 2016-20. He finished third in a 15-candidate field in the August primary and did not advance to the runoff held as part of the general election.
Roth was first in the primary but did not receive more than 50% of the vote. He repeated his success on Nov. 3, this time winning a clear majority.