Honolulu City Council 2025 Inauguration
HONOLULU ̶ The Honolulu City Council will officially commence the new year with a ceremonial swearing-in of one newly elected councilmember and four returning councilmembers on January 2, 2025, at noon in the Council Chambers at Honolulu Hale. The ceremony symbolizes a continued dedication to public service and incorporating new perspectives into the city's governance.
Councilmember-elect Scott Nishimoto, who will serve Council District V, along with returning Councilmembers Andria Tupola (District I), Esther Kia‘āina (District III), Radiant Cordero (District VII), and Augie Tuba (District IX), will be sworn in by Hawai‘i Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald. Council Chair Tommy Waters will lead the inauguration and preside over the Council’s first official meeting of 2025.
“Over the past two years, the Honolulu City Council, in close partnership with the City Administration, has made significant and meaningful progress in addressing O‘ahu’s housing crisis, enhancing the safety and wellbeing of our residents, and figuring out new and creative ways to ease the confounding cost-of-living increases that are increasingly burdening our local families,” said Council Chair Waters. “These are perennial problems, and as we look to the future, our Councilmembers are determined and excited to work with each of their respective district constituents to build on the progress we’ve made to create positive change and a better future for the entire community.”
Returning Council Chair Tommy Waters (District IV), Councilmember Matt Weyer (District II), Councilmembers Tyler Dos Santos-Tam (District VI), and Councilmember Val Okimoto (District VIII) are continuing their terms, having taken their oaths of office on Jan. 2, 2023.
This will be the Council’s first official meeting of 2025, and as such, it will act on proposed Council leadership roles.
The agenda is posted at https://hnldoc.ehawaii.gov/hnldoc/browse/agendas.
The ceremony's opening protocols include an oli, or chant, and the Message of Aloha by Pua Ali‘i ‘Ilima Kumu Hula, Founder of PA‘I Foundation, and Hawaiian cultural practitioner Vicky Holt Takamine. The Royal Hawaiian Band will perform traditional Hawaiian music.
Seating within the Chamber is primarily reserved for the Council’s invited guests. Should any seats remain, seating for the public will begin at around 11:50 a.m.
Public parking will be limited, but metered stalls may be available in the City’s Municipal Parking lot at the Civic Center (enter via Alapa‘i Street or S. Beretania Street). Reserved parking for invited guests will be marked along Punchbowl, S. King Streets, and Mission Lane.
The public may watch the inauguration ceremony online via the Honolulu City Council website at https://www.honolulucitycouncil.org/meetings or on ‘Ōlelo Community Media, Channel 54.
