The top executive post for the County of Hawaii — the mayor — requires a leader who is fully engaged and in whom the voting public can place its full trust.

Mayor Billy Kenoi, now indicted on multiple charges, including theft, meets neither requirement.

He must now engage in his defense and can no longer devote the necessary attention to his job.

It’s already past time for him to resign, and let the work of the county proceed without the dark cloud hovering above.

Kenoi, whose final term in office ends Dec. 5, was indicted Wednesday by a Hawaii island grand jury. The charges included two counts of felony theft and six misdemeanor counts in connection with the use of his county credit card.

According to a county audit, $129,580.73 in charges were made with Kenoi’s county-issued credit card, known as a pCard. A pCard is meant to provide an expedient means for government employees to cover legitimate expenses in the course of county business. But this clearly wasn’t the way Kenoi used it.

Kenoi spent freely and lavishly on pricey hotels, restaurants and bars in Hawaii, as well as trips to the mainland and overseas.

Personal expenses, such as the now-infamous purchase of a $1,200 surfboard and $565 for his Hawaii State Bar Association dues, went on the government card as well.

After the indictment, Kenoi’s attorney, Todd Eddins, said the mayor would not resign and insisted there was no crime.

“Each expense by the mayor served a county purpose or was described in black and white as an expense to be reimbursed,” Eddins added. “The county is not out one penny. Mayor Kenoi has not enriched himself one penny.”

His lawyer can try to make that case. But in fact, even if Kenoi repaid the personal credit-card expenses, he did benefit from treating the conveniences accorded to his office as a personal perk that he can’t legitimize. Few of his constituents could claim such a privilege.

Whether or not Kenoi is convicted, the behavior he already has acknowledged is a breach of the behavior one should expect from an elected respresentative — and especially a chief executive.

Above all, it’s difficult to imagine how Kenoi could focus on running the affairs of the county responsibly, with these charges hanging over his head.

A resignation would complicate the upcoming election, but there’s time to keep the disruption to a minimum. According to the county charter, the county’s managing director would step into the job, at least temporarily.

If Kenoi vacates before the primary election candidate filing deadline of June 7, a special election can be announced with the candidate filing deadline set as soon as 10 days later.

The person elected would serve out the remaining term, with the winner of the general election taking over for a full term.

County officials, who have been mostly passive since Kenoi’s misdeeds were revealed, should recognize that Kenoi’s resignation is long overdue and take action.

Councilwoman Margaret Wille, one of the few public officials who has openly criticized Kenoi, rightly expressed dismay at the failure of the county Board of Ethics, the County Council and the county prosecutor to conduct their own query or issue their own reprimand.

Lanric Hyland of Kapaau is pressing the Board of Ethics to demand Kenoi’s resignation.

He identified one of the few bright spots in this whole mess: Seeing the grand jury issue its indictment reinforces the fact that nobody is above the law.

Some suggest that this mayor will hang tough, his forgiving constitutents are likely to forget, and he could be back to run for another office.

One declared candidate to succeed Kenoi is the former managing director, Wally Lau, who said he would withhold judgment until the process plays out.

That’s fine, but Kenoi shouldn’t stay in office while it does. It’s an embarrassment to county employees, said former Councilman Pete Hoffman, another mayoral hopeful.

Whatever Kenoi’s future holds, he should step aside while a clear-eyed review of the facts of his case are presented to the public.

Perhaps then, some of the public’s faith in their county leaders can be restored.