Victorino announces he will seek second term
Elected in 2018, mayor’s recent years in office marked by pandemic
Mayor Michael Victorino speaks at an event in November. He announc-ed Sunday that he will seek reelection this year. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo
Mayor Mike Victorino
Mayor Michael Victorino speaks at an event in November. He announc-ed Sunday that he will seek reelection this year. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo
Mayor Mike Victorino
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Maui County Mayor Michael Victorino on Sunday announced he will seek a second four-year term in office, one of the first candidates to publicly announce that he will be running for the nonpartisan mayoral seat this election cycle.
Candidate filing for the 2022 elections begins March 1, with the primary election on Aug. 13 and general election on Nov. 8.
"Even with the extraordinary challenges we've faced with COVID-19, fires, floods, economic uncertainty, and more, the future of Maui County looks very promising," Victorino said in a news release Sunday afternoon. "I'm running to continue the progress we've made and to keep the county moving forward. This is my home and I love the people of this community. Serving as your mayor has been the honor of my lifetime."
Victorino won the mayoral seat in 2018, when he defeated then-West Maui Council Member Elle Cochran with 27,112 of the votes, or 53.6 percent, to Cochran's 22,190, or 43.8 percent.
He was also a council member from 2007 to 2016 and held the Wailuku-Waihee-Waikapu seat.
If elected to a second term, Victorino said he will revitalize Maui County with his "Four Pillars of Recovery Plan" which he will release after he formally files for reelection.
Plan highlights include development of more affordable rentals and workforce housing for residents, upgrading to green infrastructure to cope with climate change and protect the environment, diversifying the economy to maximize Maui County's unique strengths and "right-sizing" tourism to reduce the county's economic dependence on one sector.
"I am committed to work with all sectors of our community to build a more equitable and self-reliant future for the people of Maui, Molokai and Lanai while perpetuating our local way of life," said Victorino. "A healthy community needs a healthy economy. Safe-guarding the health and well-being of our residents continues to be my top priority."
The last two years of Victorino's term have been marked by the pandemic, which has spurred criticism of county and state officials' handling of shutdowns, vaccine mandates and limits of businesses and social gatherings. Like many other leaders across the U.S. in recent months, Victorino faced a recall effort.
Organizers and supporters of the recall have said the effort came out of concerns over COVID-19 vaccine mandates and possible lockdowns, along with the county's spending of the millions of CARES Act funds received through the pandemic. Other issues of concern include affordable housing, the unsheltered population on Maui and water rights.
The recall movement, which began in late October, was thwarted in early January, as the group known as RecallVictorino.org lacked 19,909 signatures in its second and final try to attain the 21,586 signatures needed under the County Charter.
According to the charter, no new petition can be filed to recall the mayor for another year, meaning Victorino will not face another recall attempt before the election.
* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.
**This story contains a correction from its original print version.