Hawaii GOP Chairman Kaauwai resigns
20100511-33 EDT KAAUWAI Jonah Kaauwai is the state chairman of the Hawaii Republican party. He is the "Name in the News" this week, as the party celebrates Charles Djou's lead in the 1st Congressional District race and prepares for its state convention on Saturday. This is Jonah Kaauwai posing for a portrait at the Republican Headquarters on Kapiolani Blvd. PHOTO BY DENNIS ODA. MAY 11, 2010.
State Republican Party Chairman Jonah Kaauwai formally resigned from the post this morning, officials said.
The Hawaii Republican Party announced Kaauwai’s resignation in messages posted on the organization’s Facebook page and Twitter account.
"At about 10:15 a.m. this morning, Hawaii Republican Party Chairman Jonah Ka`auwai formally resigned as chair," the posts said. Further details were not immediately available.
Word surfaced last week that several members of the party’s executive committee wanted to remove Kaauwai as chairman.
In a confidential Sept. 18 email to the GOP’s state committee, members of the committee said former Gov. Linda Lingle and other top Republicans have lost confidence in Kaauwai’s leadership.
The email cited a party debt of nearly $100,000 and questioned Kaauwai’s ability to build a grass-roots organization and recruit candidates so the party can be competitive in the 2012 elections.
Last week, Kaauwai said he had been in discussions with party leaders on how best to proceed.
