A new mayor for Hawaii County was sworn in on Monday. Kimo Alameda, who defeated incumbent Mitch Roth on Nov. 5, took the oath of office in a ceremony at the Outrigger Kona Resort in Keauhou, and touted it as a reflection of his commitment to “geographic equity” — equal attention to matters on the island’s west side.

Alameda raised cheers by stating he believed his was the first inauguration on the west side since 1968. However, Roth was actually inaugurated in Kailua-Kona, at the West Hawaii Civic Center — in a low-key ceremony primarily witnessed by a virtual audience, as Hawaii was in the grips of the COVID-19 epidemic.