State House leader has ‘no desire to be next lieutenant governor’
ASSOCIATED PRESS
House Speaker Scott Saiki, shown here in May, said today he does not want the lieutenant governor position being vacated by Shan Tsutsui.
House Speaker Scott Saiki today announced he is not interested in becoming the state’s next lieutenant governor.
“I have no desire to be the next lieutenant governor of Hawaii,” Saiki said in a written statement.
Lt. Gov. Shan Tsutsui announced Monday he will resign effective Wednesday and vacate his office, but his job as second in command of the state government has had no immediate takers.
State law sets out a chain of succession for the lieutenant governor, and calls for the job to pass to the president of the state Senate, then to the speaker of the state House of Representatives and then to the state attorney general if the others decline the appointment.
Senate President Ron Kouchi said Monday he isn’t interested in the job of lieutenant governor himself.
State Attorney General Doug Chin, who is next in line for the job, has so far refused to say whether he wants the position.
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“I am focused on wrapping up my work as attorney general and campaigning for the open congressional seat in urban Honolulu,” Chin said in his statement Monday. “I’m not going to comment on opportunities that are not in front of me.”
If Chin refuses, the chain of succession then passes to the governor’s Cabinet, starting with the state director of finance.
