Hawaii voters pick Democrat Josh Green to be next governor

A new era in Hawaii politics and leadership begins in December when Josh Green is sworn in as the state’s ninth governor following his sweeping win Tuesday night over three-time Republican candidate James “Duke” Aiona.

“Every day for the next four years, I will work to heal old wounds, unite the people of Hawaii as one ohana and lead us forward to fulfill our commitments to each other, to our islands and to future generations,” Green told the Honolulu Star-­Advertiser. “I’m incredibly grateful for all of this support from across our state, but I don’t take it for granted and I’m going to work hard every day to earn it. Whether people cast a vote for me or not, I am going to work just as hard for them and their family.”

The Democratic ticket of Green and his running mate, Sylvia Luke, outgoing chair of the House Finance Committee, more than doubled the votes of Aiona and his Republican running mate, Seaula “Junior” Tupa’i Jr., a Hilo pastor and first-time candidate for state office, Tuesday night.

Following their primary wins that brought them together as a ticket for the general election, Green and Luke told the Star-Advertiser during a joint interview that they were longtime political allies in the Legislature, as similar as they are different, but share common goals and personalities.

“We broke the mold,” Green said in that post-­primary interview. “You’ve got a doctor and a lawyer of different ethnicities, both progressives on civil rights, gun rights, abortion rights.”

Luke will be America’s first Korean American politician ever elected to any statewide office, said Tae-ung Baik, a University of Hawaii law school professor and director of the UH Center for Korean Studies.

Other Korean Americans have been elected to state legislatures and Congress, but Luke is the first to win a statewide election, Baik said.

“It’s historic for Korean Americans, and especially for Sylvia Luke as a governor or lieutenant governor,” he said. “And, as a woman, it’s remarkable.”

In a statement, Luke told the Star-Advertiser, “Growing up in Hawaii taught me the value of listening to many voices and learning from many cultures. I came here as a child from South Korea and have succeeded because I was raised in a place that accepts and embraces people of all backgrounds. Being the first person of Korean ancestry to be elected to a statewide office is a milestone, and an honor that I carry with pride.”

Green and Luke have a long list of priorities but said the top five are addressing affordable housing, expanding pre-K education and doing more to address mental health, homelessness and climate change.

Before the next legislative session begins, the incoming administration will have to assemble a Cabinet; write a State of the State speech outlining the administration’s goals and challenges for the upcoming legislative session; and draft a package of administration bills that Green previously said will include a new round of proposals to reform political ethics and rules regarding lobbying and campaign donations.

Green, as Hawaii’s lieutenant governor, led all Republican and Democratic candidates from the beginning of the gubernatorial campaign in terms of fundraising, endorsements and approval ratings.

In the August Democratic Party primary, Green received 158,161 votes, or an overwhelming 60.6%.

He was then considered a shoo-in against Aiona, a two-time Republican lieutenant governor, former deputy prosecutor, deputy corporation counsel and Circuit Court judge who created Hawaii’s “drug court” diversion program.

Compared with Green, who openly campaigned for months, Aiona joined the Republican primary race for governor only on the final day of eligibility and never attracted a campaign war chest big enough to convince enough independent and Democratic voters to finally elect him to the state’s highest office.

Aiona won the Republican Party primary with just 37,608 votes, or 45.7%.

During the primary campaign, Green promised to ensure a woman’s right to abortion in Hawaii “from Day One,” but his boss, Gov. David Ige, later issued his own executive order.

“We will not cooperate with any other state that tries to prosecute women who receive abortions in Hawaii,” Ige said in a statement accompanying his executive order in October. “And we will not cooperate with any other state that tries to sanction medical professionals who provide abortions in Hawaii.”

It was hardly the first time that Green and Ige failed to be in lockstep on key messaging.

They sometimes clashed over how to best address homelessness and, famously, over the state’s response to COVID-19.

But voters consistently gave Green high approval ratings and seemed to appreciate that he was willing to contradict Ige.

Green, a Kona emergency room physician, regularly wore hospital scrubs and reminded voters that he treats struggling families as patients and has made housing the homeless one of his top priorities, along with creating more affordable housing.

Luke decided to run for lieutenant governor instead of a relatively easy reelection to the House following a successful legislative session in which she helped steer sometimes record levels of funding to programs.

Luke, 54, was first elected to the House in 1998. Green, 52, was elected to the House in 2004.

They have the potential for a better working relationship than Ige had with Green or with Green’s predecessor, Shan Tsutsui, who abruptly resigned in frustration.

Luke and Green are “equally matched in their political skill,” said Colin Moore, director of the University of Hawaii’s Public Policy Center. “It could be a terrific partnership if Luke uses her skills as a legislative deal-maker to push Green’s legislative agenda. That’s something Ige never had. She knows how that building (the state Capitol) works, and their core policy beliefs are pretty similar. On the other hand, it could be a real problem if they decide not to work together and she decides to upstage him. We’ve seen that plenty of times. Or, they could be a tremendous team. Green is great as a retail politician, energizing people. And Luke is disciplined and understands how the budget works and how federal money works.”

But Green’s popularity among voters and Luke’s previous role as a member of House leadership could mean little if conflicts emerge during the upcoming legislative session, Moore said.

An uncertain economic future faces both the Green administration and the Legislature as COVID-19-era funding dries up, even as Hawaii’s tourism industry continues to rebound.

Asked about the length of a honeymoon period between Green and the Legislature, Moore said, “I think it’s going to be very short.”

“The governor takes most of the blame, so Green should try to get some early points on the board, whether it’s affordable housing or homelessness, to cement his reputation as an effective governor,” Moore said.