Former House Speaker Joseph Souki said Wednesday he agreed to resign from office to avoid a “media circus,” and said he has no memory of ever acting inappropriately with any woman at any time.
Souki has agreed to resign from office next week to resolve complaints from several women who allege they were the targets of his unwanted advances that included sexual comments, touching and kissing, according to the Hawaii State Ethics Commission.
In a prepared statement read aloud to reporters by lawyer Michael Green, Souki said he is “greatly saddened that something I did was misunderstood and believed to be inappropriate conduct.”
Souki, a two-time speaker of the House who has been a powerful Hawaii political figure for more than a generation, was first accused of inappropriate conduct by former Director of Human Services Rachael Wong, who filed allegations against him with the ethics commission last fall.
After the Star-Advertiser reported on that complaint, at least four other women came forward with similar allegations against Souki, Wong said in an interview.
According to a document made public by ethics commission staff Wednesday, Souki admitted that while serving as speaker of the House he “touched and kissed more than one woman in ways that were inappropriate and unwelcome” during meetings in his office.
“He admits that this physical contact exceeded the boundaries of the customary ‘aloha kiss,’ ” according to the Resolution of Investigation document released by the ethics commission. “Souki further admits that he made sexual comments, including comments on the physical appearance of more than one woman, that were inappropriate and unwanted.”
As part of the resolution, Souki has agreed to resign from office no later than March 30 and to issue a public apology for his conduct. He is also required to pay a $5,000 administrative fine to the commission. The 86-year-old Souki must also agree not to seek public office again for two years.
Wong issued a statement Tuesday saying that “the incident with Representative Souki involved abuse of (his) positional power in the extreme.
“Although there was a male colleague present, he made inappropriate comments specific to my gender and physical appearance and inappropriate requests for physical contact beyond the traditional greetings we typically exchange in Hawaii,” Wong wrote. That encounter occurred in November 2015, she said.
She declined to describe the incident in greater detail at a news conference Wednesday, and no information was available about the allegations from other women.
Gov. David Ige issued a statement Wednesday commending “Rachael Wong for her courage and leadership in giving a voice to harassment victims and increasing awareness across the state.”
“Together, let’s work to ensure respectful, safe and harassment-free work environments for all. There must be zero tolerance for harassment of any kind in the workplace,” Ige said in the statement.
Souki, (D, Waihee-Waiehu-Wailuku), has been a state representative since 1982, and first rose to the peak of power in the House when he became speaker in 1993.
He held that position until he was ousted in 1999, but became speaker again in another House reorganization in 2013. He led the House again until he was replaced last year by current House Speaker Scott Saiki.
Saiki released a statement Wednesday saying that the House “concurs with the settlement agreement and will abide by its terms.”
“It is regrettable that a legislative career that spanned 36 years is ending in such a manner,” Saiki said in his statement. “As a legislator, Representative Souki always put his constituents first. Maui will lose an able and courageous advocate.”
Souki said in his press conference that the accusations of sexual harassment against him are all three to eight years old, and said he has “absolutely no memory of ever acting in inappropriately with any woman at any time, as a member of the House or in a private setting.”
Souki, who was flanked by his lawyer Michael Green, said he felt sorry for Wong after she told him she would be retiring and leaving state government.
“I felt sorry for her and I went and kissed her cheek, and that’s all. I stood up and I kissed her cheek. At that time, she did not say anything opposing to that, but I initiated it, she didn’t put her face forward,” he said. He added: “I didn’t do anything else other than that.”
“I can speak with a clear conscience to this state and the world that it was never my intent to hurt this wahine, to hurt anyone, that was never my intent,” he said. “I always respected people from both genders.”
In the statement read by Green, Souki said that “I have made the difficult decision to avoid a media circus by stepping down without a public confrontation with my accusers.”
“I do not intend to have my wife and family agonize through public hearings before the Ethics Committee or elsewhere,” the statement said. “I do not want my colleagues in the legislature to waste their valuable time in deciding where the truth lies, and what sanctions against me, if any, are appropriate,” Souki’s statement said.
Green also read Souki’s apology, which said “I apologize to the women that believe I treated them in any unwanted and inappropriate manner.”
State Ethics Commission Executive Director Daniel Gluck said that while Souki might now deny any misconduct, he signed a settlement agreement with the commission acknowledging he made sexual comments to women and touched and kissed women in his Capitol office in ways he admitted were inappropriate and unwelcome.
In response to reporters’ questions after the statement, Souki said that to fight the allegations against him, “it will take very long, it will be very expensive, it would hurt a lot of people in the process. It has never been my intent as a legislator to hurt anybody. It would hurt both the accuser and my family and my friends as we’re going through all of this, as you well know.”
When asked if he is concerned that people will assume he is guilty because he is resigning, Souki replied that “there will be some that will. I cannot control that.”
Souki’s resignation is not expected to affect the pension benefits he earned during his nearly 36 years in office.
Souki’s resignation will create a vacancy in the House that Ige, under state law, must fill within 60 days. The process requires that Democratic Party officials on Maui submit three names to Ige, who will pick one to serve out the balance of Souki’s term.
Hawaii State Ethics Commission: Resolution of Investigation into Rep. Joseph Souki by Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Scribd
Statement from Rep. Joseph Souki after harassment claims by Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Scribd
