Kauai to hold ceremony for new mayor
Star-Bulletin staff
LIHUE » County officials announced yesterday that Bill "Kaipo" Asing will be sworn in as mayor next Thursday, 10 days after being selected in a special meeting Monday.
A swearing-in ceremony will start at 9 a.m. Until then he will remain County Council chairman.
However, some in the community have said that since Asing was selected by the Council and not voted in by the public, the County Charter implies that he was the mayor immediately after his selection.
Harrison Kawate, deputy county attorney, said at Monday's meeting that the move to mayor is not usually official until the swearing in takes place.
It was Asing who was pushing for the selection meeting to happen quickly in the first place.
In a news release, on June 26, days after Kauai Mayor Bryan Baptiste died from a heart attack, Asing said that the "sooner we can get this done, the better for everyone," and that there was a level of anxiety in the community over the succession.
Gary Heu will remain the interim mayor until Asing is sworn in.