Hundreds were in attendance Monday, including Gov. Josh Green and Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, as Mayor Kimo Alameda, Prosecutor Kelden Waltjen and the nine County Council members were inaugurated at the Kaleiopapa Convention Center on the grounds of the Outrigger Kona Resort and Spa in Keauhou.
After a welcoming oli by kumu hula Keala Ching, the singing of the national anthem and “Hawai‘i Pono‘i,” and invocation by Kahu Brian Boshard, chaplain of Kamehameha Schools, the elected officials were administered the oath of office by Third Circuit Chief Judge Wendy DeWeese.
All swore to support and defend the constitutions of the United States and the state of Hawaii and to discharge the duties of their offices to the best of their abilities.
Alameda, who defeated incumbent Mitch Roth on Nov. 5 to become Hawaii County’s chief executive, told attendees, “Because of you, today I’m now mayor of this beautiful Moku O Keawe.”
Noting the setting of the ceremony, Alameda said he “made a promise of geographic equity.”
“And it’s the first time, I believe, since 1968, since Mayor Shunichi Kimura took office, we had a mayor inauguration here on the west side,” he said to rousing applause and cheers. (The 2020 inauguration also was held in West Hawaii, according to the Tribune-Herald’s reporting.)
“Keauhou, how fitting,” Alameda continued. “Keauhou means ‘a new beginning, a new era.’ And this place is super sacred. We’re on sacred grounds, right? Kamehameha III was here, and he came up with the phrase, ‘Ua mau ke ea o ka ‘aina i ka pono.’ And that has become the phrase of our state, and it’s something that’s guided us to this day.”
That phrase, the state’s motto, is generally translated as “the life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.”
The new mayor called the event “a celebration” and said he wants “to look back four years from now and celebrate public safety.”
“I want to be able to look at Waikoloa and they finally get their sirens,” he said, less than an hour after Civil Defense’s sirens islandwide sounded in their monthly tests.
“When I ask about, you know, disaster preparedness, and I ask, ‘Eh, if Mauna Loa were to erupt again and the lava go the other way, do we have a plan?’ I want to celebrate that plan.
“I want to celebrate every single community that is at risk of fire, that we have proper evacuation routes.”
Alameda added that he also hopes to celebrate “recreation on this beautiful island.”
“That’s why we live here, right?” he elaborated. “We don’t like just be in our houses. We like get out. So, we like make sure our beaches, our fields, our gyms, our parks are as well kept as possible, so that we can enjoy it.”
Alameda, who received the endorsement of the Hawaii Government Employees Association and the United Public Workers, said he also celebrates “our workforce, our hardworking county workers.”
“It’s you that make us look good, OK?” he said. “So, we want to make sure that morale is high in the county. And we can do that by loving on our county workers.”
The new mayor also noted the holiday season, not just Christmas, but Hanukkah, Ramadan, Bodhi Day, Kwanzaa and Makahiki.
“That’s the kind of diversity I want us to appreciate and embrace, because that’s what makes us super special, right? We acknowledge each other’s differences; we aloha each other,” Alameda said. “Because it is true nobody cares how much we know until they know how much we care.”
Waltjen was unopposed in the primary and elected to his second term.
“You know, a community member recently told me, ‘Hawaii Island’s greatest export is its keiki,’” Waltjen said. “Hey, gotta do something about that!”
“Oftentimes, our keiki move away and they don’t return home,” he continued. “Whether it be because of education, housing, employment, crime or other reasons, I think this is one of the things that we, as leaders, should prioritize and change. Promote positive changes that will encourage and enable our keiki to survive and thrive, right here in our mainland, Hawaii.”
Waltjen noted that he, Alameda and County Council Chairman Holeka Inaba all “are part-Hawaiian and were born and raised right here on Hawaii Island,” drawing a large round of applause.
After opening his address in the Hawaiian language, Inaba, who represents North Kona, asked for recognition of County Clerk Jon Henricks and Henricks’ staff for “putting together this wonderful inauguration here in Kona.”
“On behalf of my colleagues on the County Council, mahalo nui for entrusting us with the kuleana of serving our communities across this island,” he said.
Inaba then noted the “new chapter for Hawaii County” alluded to by Alameda.
“It is an era filled with opportunity and promise,” he said. “And how fitting it is that we gather here in Kona, this special place, Keauhou.”
Inaba, who has a doctorate in educational leadership, also echoed Alameda’s mention of the state motto attributed to Kauikeaouli, Kamehameha III.
“We attribute this term ‘ua mau ke ea o ka ‘aina i ka pono’ and the translation that’s been provided and perpetuated. But we, as Hawaiian scholars, know that ua mau ke ea o ka ‘aina i ka pono really means that we’re affirming the sovereignty of Hawaii and the rightful people of this land,” Inaba said, eliciting applause.
“I know that each and every one of us serving in our roles do care for the people of this land. And it is our kuleana to carry forth that kuleana of ua mau ke ea o ka ‘aina i ka pono.”
Shortly thereafter, emcee Lorna Lim, a kumu hula and recording artist from Kohala, concluded the hour-plus ceremony by playing an ‘ukelele and leading the audience in singing “Hawai‘i Aloha.”
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
