Mitch Roth announces candidacy for mayor of Hawaii County

Hawaii County Prosecuting Attorney Mitch Roth announced Tuesday his candidacy for mayor of Hawaii County.

Roth declared his candidacy at the Liliuokalani Park & Gardens in Hilo to a group of supporters.

“Our island is a jewel in both diversity and shared values,” he said. “We have opportunities to harness those values into a model for sustainable living, economic stability and fostering growth in culturally appropriate ways that attract our children home.”

He said that the first step to problem solving and community building is “to bring the right people to the table.”

The 55-year-old has been serving as the county’s prosecuting attorney since 2012, and won reelection in 2016. He oversees 34 prosecuting attorneys.

He became a Hawaii County deputy prosecutor in 1998.

Roth’s campaign bio credits his leadership with prosecuting several cold cases, implementing a restorative justice project, creating a sexual assault unit with attorneys experienced in such cases and setting up a community outreach and training about sexual assault.

He began his public service career in 1993 when in Honolulu he became one of the nation’s first community-oriented prosecutors and helped develop a prosecution program focused on community, it says.

Roth, who obtained his bachelor’s degree from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and his law degree from Whittier Law School, also taught English in Japan.

He and his wife, Noriko, have three adult children who are Waiakea High School graduates.