Hawaii
Roth, Alameda spar over crime, housing in Hawaii County mayor debate
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The two candidates for Hawaii Island mayor sparred for a half hour debate Thursday night at the Hilton Waikoloa.
Mayor Mitch Roth touted the county’s progress but challenger Kimo Alameda said new leadership is needed.
They answered questions about balancing west and east Hawaii, crime, homelessness, and affordable housing.
“We came in and our department is working with 1243 units to date 8100 units in that pipeline we’ve been making a great impact,” said Roth.
“We went from the worse in the country to the fourth worst in the country and that’s not something to brag about. We still have a permitting issue,” said Alameda.
The candidates also talked about over-tourism.
Roth said it’s about “destination management” whereas Alameda said the county needs to attract different types of tourists and should look into sports tourism.
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