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CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
Kirk Caldwell spoke to supporters after the first numbers on election night showed him in the lead over Ben Cayetano. Caldwell maintained that lead throughout the evening.
Mayor Kirk Caldwell was sworn in today as Honolulu’s 14th mayor in a joint ceremony with newly elected members of the City Council.
Officials said it was the first joint swearing-in of the mayor and Council members, an event both Caldwell and Council Chairman Ernie Martin was symbolic of the will to work together in the spirit of compromise.
Caldwell received the oath of office from state Supreme Court Justice Sabrina McKenna.
Council members receiving the oath of office today from state Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald included new Council members Ron Menor and Kymberly Pine, and re-elected Council members Ikaika Anderson and Ann Kobayashi. Councilman Joey Manahan, who was elected in August and appointed to fill the term vacated in October by new House Rep. Romy Cachola, also took the oath.
Attendees included Gov. Neil Abercrombie, House Speaker Calvin Say, Senate President Donna Mercado Kim, former Gov. John Waihee and various other members of the state Legislature.
Caldwell defeated former Gov. Ben Cayetano in the November general election with 54 percent of the vote to Cayetano’s 46 percent.
