Kevin Dayton, executive assistant to County of Hawaii Mayor Billy Kenoi, has resigned from his county position to return to a newspaper reporting position with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
Dayton, 52, served in the Kenoi administration for nearly three years. His responsibilities included communications and special projects. Before joining the Kenoi administration, Dayton was a reporter and bureau chief for The Honolulu Advertiser for 16 years, and was a reporter for the Hawaii Tribune-Herald for four years.
Dayton was instrumental in the Honolulu Advertiser’s domestic abuse series, “Crossing the Line: Abuse in Hawaii Homes,” which won a national Dart Award for excellence in coverage of trauma in 2009. The series included “Daysha’s Diary,” a recounting by Dayton of the life of an abuse victim, in part from journal entries before she was killed.
Dayton expressed appreciation for the chance to work for Mayor Kenoi.
“Kevin has been a valued member of our executive team, and he will be missed,” Mayor Kenoi said. “We all appreciate his many contributions to our administration, and we wish him success in his new job.”
Dayton will be assigned to cover the Honolulu mass transit project for the Star-Advertiser. He may cover other transportation-related issues as well. He has already moved to Honolulu, where he will live part-time (in addition to Hawaii Island) and starts in the new position on Tuesday, October 25.
Mayor Kenoi has not announced who in his office will become the media liaison, a position Dayton has handled for the past year since Hunter Bishop moved from the Executive Assistant position to become the Deputy Director of the Department of Environmental Management.
