By Staff Reports
(Maui) – Mayor Alan Arakawa welcomed Maui Police Department Chief Tivoli Faaumu into his office to congratulate him on his new position. Chief Faaumu was selected to replace Chief Gary Yabuta who recently retired.
“Few things are more important than the health, safety and welfare of our residents and visitors,” said Mayor Arakawa. “Chief Faaumu is very positive, down-to-earth and wanting to work together to make Maui County an even better place to live and raise our families.”
Chief Faaumu is a 29-year police veteran of the department with degrees in administrative justice, business management and a master’s degree in homeland security; he also is a master sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserve.
”I am honored and humbled to have been selected from such a qualified group of applicants,” said Chief Faaumu. “I am also eager to get going – to work with our officers and staff, our communities and government leaders to best serve the public.”
At their meeting, the chief and mayor briefly shared some of their immediate goals and agreed to meet again to discuss priorities, concerns and how they can work together to address them.
“There are a lot of important issues to address,” said Faaumu. “For example, the mayor and I agree that an immediate priority is to make our parks such as Kanaha Beach Park and Kalama Park more family-friendly and a better experience for all. We will also be looking at ways that we can work together to better communicate with the public.”
Mayor Arakawa said that he looks forward to working alongside Chief Faaumu and his department. “They genuinely care about our communities and want to move forward together in such a positive way.”