Gov.-elect David Ige announced Friday that Mike McCartney, president and chief executive officer of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, will be his new chief of staff.
Ige and McCartney have been allies since they served together in the state Senate. The pick gives the new governor a political insider who has experience with labor and the state’s dominant industry.
McCartney, who represented Windward Oahu in the Senate for a decade, also served as director of the state Department of Human Resources Development during the Cayetano administration, chief executive officer at PBS Hawaii, chairman of the Democratic Party of Hawaii and executive director of the Hawaii State Teachers Association. He has led the Hawaii Tourism Authority since 2009.
"I’m glad that I’m able to have a chief of staff that has broad private-sector, public-sector experience, working inside the executive as well as inside the legislative branch of government," Ige said at a news conference at the State Office Tower, his first since he was elected Tuesday. "As you know, chief of staff becomes a very, very important position to the Governor’s Office.
"Mike’s personality, his style, his abilities, really provide an extension of my core beliefs of open government, being respectful and responsive to all concerns and then — most importantly — doing the right thing the right way."
McCartney said he will resign from the HTA at a board meeting Nov. 20. He called the new post a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It’s a privilege and honor to work for the governor and the lieutenant governor and serve the state of Hawaii.
"I think we have many challenges ahead, and one of them is finding the best Cabinet, the best team, to work with us."
People who have worked with McCartney say privately that he has vision and is a collaborator, although some have questioned his day-to-day management skills. The state auditor, in a report issued last year, criticized the HTA for an incohesive marketing plan and poor reporting on whether its outreach is effective.
McCartney’s history with the teachers union could be a delicate issue for Ige, since the union provided important early support for his campaign. McCartney was a negotiations specialist for the teachers union in the 1980s and its executive director in the late 2000s, a post he described at the time as his "dream job."
"I have always been committed to public education, from my very first appointment to the House of Representatives and all through my career," Ige said. "Public education has been a priority for me. Some of the times my positions have agreed with HSTA; some of the times we’ve actually been in opposition."
Ige predicted there would be alignment between the executive branch and the union on "90 percent" of the issues related to student achievement. "I expect that they will do their best to advocate on behalf of their members," he said, "just as I will be advocating as the employer representing the people of Hawaii to ensure that our communities get good value and our teachers are compensated fairly."
Ige said his immediate priority is building a Cabinet. He invited people interested in serving in his administration to apply online at dhrd.hawaii.gov/gov-elect-ige. The transition team will be led by Keith Hiraoka, an attorney who was Ige’s campaign manager.
"We are looking for people that share the same core values and philosophies," Ige said. "We are looking for people that are collaborative, want to engage the communities as we move forward."
Ige said he plans to attend a National Governors Association training session for new governors next week in Colorado. He also said he has scheduled briefings with Abercrombie administration officials on the budget and other issues. The new governor has to submit a draft two-year budget to the Legislature in late December.
Ige will be sworn in as governor Dec. 1. He said he has not yet selected a site for his inauguration.
