Retired 2nd Circuit Chief Judge Richard Bissen Jr. was poised to win the Maui County mayoral race, as he held a more than 6,000-vote lead over Mayor Michael Victorino after the second printout around 9:45 p.m. Tuesday.

Bissen had 20,676 votes or 57.9 percent to Victorino’s 14,178 votes or 39.7 percent. Bissen held his lead throughout the night, as after the first printout he was already ahead 17,501 votes to Victorino’s 12,651.

“I feel fortunate, I feel hopeful and I feel like there’s an expectation that we’ll deliver on what we talked about, so now the work begins,” Bissen said via phone from his gathering at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center, as well-wishers could be heard in the background.

He said he didn’t think anything about the “win” or how the votes would play out.

“I just knew we did everything we could do. And we’ll leave it in the hands of the voters. I wouldn’t change our strategy or our effort. I think we had a good strategy going in and we made a good effort. I think we worked as hard as we could and did all we could think of for a bunch of amateurs,” Bissen said of his first political run.

He said it is a testament to the hard work of the volunteers and supporters and those that endorsed his campaign. Bissen also outdid Victorino in fundraising, amassing a large campaign spending war chest, bringing in more than $678,000 over the course of the entire election cycle.

Victorino, speaking via phone from his gathering at Kahului Shopping Center, said: “I guess people didn’t think I did a good job so that’s why they voted differently and I respect that. I went through some unprecedented times and it was a work in progress, a OJT, on-the-job training, and that’s what happened. And so, for me and our administration, I really am thankful that we did what we did and if I had to change it, I wouldn’t because it saved a lot of lives and protected this community, and their health and well-being was my priority and will always be my priority for the people in Maui County.”

Asked if he believed that his handling of the pandemic greatly impacted his campaign, he said: “I think there’s a lot of factors, low (voter) turnout, this was kind of sad, the turnout was very low and I just think people are angry at a lot of things, because there’s inflation, there’s a war in Ukraine, gasoline prices out of sight, even now still high. When you are the leader, guess what – you get blamed for it. And that’s part of the job, and that plus COVID and the restrictions have really added up to a challenge.”

Victorino said he was proud of his staff, his campaign and volunteers.

But overall he said: “It’s time for us to come together as a community. We want to keep Maui County no ka oi.”

Victorino said his current plans are to finish up, “do a good job” and make a smooth transition.

He said other than taking care of his wife and family, there’s nothing major on the horizon.

“I’m just open to what people will see, they need my help somewhere. The good Lord closes one door, and always opens another. We let it take its course.”

He added, “You, the ones of Maui County, make us great and I have been honored to serve you as mayor. I will never, ever forget and treasure this time in office.”

Bissen said: “At no time have I ever questioned Mayor Victorino’s love for Maui County. Our disagreement was over our leadership styles, or our differences in maybe what we see as priorities or how we lead, but I never had any issue with … I’m convinced he loves Maui just as much as I do. But that was never the issue. I value his service.”

As for his plans, Bissen said he will be out this morning and this afternoon doing sign waving to thank voters. He and his wife then will leave on an out-of-state trip they had planned no matter what the outcome of the election.

He will still keep in touch with his campaign via remote meetings.

In the meantime, Bissen said he would welcome resumes from those who have an interest in working in county government in 2023.

Resumes can be sent to his campaign at P.O. Box 3083, Wailuku 96793.

“I’m just so grateful and I’m just so hopeful on what we can do next if we all work together,” he said. “And that’s what I want to stress, working together.”

* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.