Victorino, County Council inauguration ceremonies set

Private and public installations planned

Two inauguration ceremonies will be held for incoming Maui County Mayor Mike Victorino on Wednesday, one at the county building in the morning and another at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center in the afternoon.

The first ceremony will take place at 8 a.m. Wednesday in the mayor's conference room on the ninth floor of the county building. It will be a private ceremony for "dignitaries and the mayor's family" due to limited space, said Tyson Miyake, a member of Victorino's transition team. Also, the mayor has to take the oath of office before the official changeover time of 12 p.m., Miyake said. Victorino also will need to chair the County Council's organizational meeting later that day.

The second ceremony will take place at 5:30 p.m. at the MACC's Castle Theater. It will be open to the public and will include a keynote speech from Gov. David Ige and Victorino. Doors open at 5 p.m.

Council inauguration ceremonies also will take place Wednesday in Council Chambers on the county building's eighth floor. Lt. Gov. Josh Green will deliver the keynote address at 10 a.m. The former state representative and senator was elected alongside Ige in November.

Two firefighters and a retired battalion chief will sing the national anthem during the inauguration, while Punana Leo o Maui will perform Hawai'i Pono'i. Kumu hula Kamaka Kukona and Halau o Ka Hanu Lehua will provide entertainment.

Judge Kirstin M. Hamman will officiate the swearing-in ceremony for the incoming council.

Incumbent Council Members Riki Hokama, Kelly King and Yuki Lei Sugimura are returning to their Lanai, South Maui and Upcountry seats, respectively. The new council members are Natalie "Tasha" Kama (Kahului), Alice Lee (Wailuku-Waihee-Waikapu), Mike Molina (Makawao-Haiku-Paia), Tamara Paltin (West Maui), Keani Rawlins-Fernandez (Molokai) and Shane Sinenci (East Maui).

The council inauguration is open to the public, with limited seating. Both events will be broadcast live on Akaku Channel 53 and on mauicounty.us.

At 2 p.m., the council will hold its organizational meeting for the new term to elect officers, establish committees, adopt rules and appoint staff. Victorino will chair the meeting until a council chairperson is elected. The council will also elect a vice chairperson and presiding officer pro tempore.

Current Council Chairman Mike White and Vice Chairman Bob Carroll are retiring from the council.

The last council organizational meeting in January 2017 was mired in controversy after White announced in a press release prior to the meeting that he would return as chairman and that Carroll would be vice chairman. Residents who complained it was a violation of the Sunshine Law testified en masse during a meeting that lasted 13¢ hours and involved five failed nominations for the chair position. White eventually won back his chair position in a 5-4 vote, and Carroll was voted vice chairman.

At the time, four council members were backed by the 'Ohana Coalition; this year 'Ohana candidates have a 5-4 majority on the council.

And, for the first time in the 114-year history of the council, women will make up the majority of the governing body with six women and three men.

For more information on the inauguration, visit mauicounty.us/inauguration2019.

* Colleen Uechi can be reached at cuechi@mauinews.com.