Josh Green became Hawaii’s ninth governor Monday in an inauguration filled with pomp and promise.
“Huliau,” or new beginnings, was the theme for Green and new Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke at the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena ceremony.
Several speakers said the new Green-Luke administration coincides with the latest eruption of Mauna Loa and the arrival of snow atop Mauna Kea.
Green and Luke were greeted with standing ovations following their separate swearing-in ceremonies presided over by Hawaii Chief Justice Mark E. Recktenwald.
“This moment is a new beginning for our state, and I am honored to serve as your
governor for the next four years,” Green told an estimated audience of about 700.
Luke was sworn in with her hand on a
Bible given by her mother, Yunja Moon, who flew in from Georgia. It is inscribed, “To my loving daughter Eun Jung. I love you Lord, You are my strength. Psalm 18:1.”
Green and first lady Jaime Green were joined by their children, Maia and Sam. There was a sweet moment when the children led the audience by citing the Pledge
of Allegiance.
Green recognized his parents, John and Natasha, his “baby brother Ben” and his fifth grade teacher, who all came in for the inauguration.
Before his first speech as governor, Green said he first had to get to work fixing a teleprompter by adjusting it.
The inauguration and a subsequent private ball were paid for by a Hawaii nonprofit called the Huliau Steering Committee created to fund the events. Any leftover proceeds will be donated to the Washington Place Foundation and Hawaii Foodbank, Green’s spokesperson said.
In his speech, Green promised to follow up on his early work as a Hawaii island doctor serving the homeless and poor out of a Kau clinic; partnerships developed during a 2019 emergency medical mission to Western Samoa that he organized in the face of a devastating measles epidemic; and work with builders to create more “kauhale” tiny-home communities and to build affordable homes across the islands to help kupuna and the middle class.
Green also pledged to:
>> Resolve by the end of the year a technical dispute over the release of $50 million in grants-in-aid to nonprofit groups that were appropriated by the Legislature last session. The money would go to organizations including the Hawaii Blood Bank, Hawaii Foodbank, Domestic Violence Action Center, Aloha Medical Mission, Hawaiian Humane Society, Institute for Human Services and Special Olympics Hawaii, and “to pay for social workers and mental health workers to support local families, to provide food for children who are going hungry and to create safe places for victims of sex assault to seek shelter,” Green said.
>> Following up on the Legislature’s record funding of $600 million to the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, Green said he will “empower” DHHL to “once and for all keep our commitments to the Hawaiian people, and house the thousands of Hawaiian families on the waiting list.”
>> “We’ll use scholarships to pay down the loans that social workers, nurses and doctors have, so that they can afford to live in Hawaii provide care for our families who need it the most.”
>> “We’ll eliminate regressive taxes like the tax on food and medicine, which hits poorest families the worst, to make Hawaii affordable for those struggling to survive from paycheck to paycheck.”
>> “And we’ll find a way to restore justice for those who have lost their way and been forgotten by the legal system but do not deserve to be lost forever.”
>> “Hawaii will lead on climate change when others just talk or refuse to act. We’ll reach our ambitious renewable-energy goals in the coming years, by aggressively approving a range of renewable-energy projects in our state.”
“Hawaii can lead on the biggest challenges facing our country and our planet in the 21st century,” Green said. “We can set an example for the whole world on the issues of housing, homelessness, poverty and climate change if we truly come together and commit to putting our values of ohana and aloha into practice — and make them a reality for everyone in Hawaii.”
The ceremony included three county mayors, legislators from both political parties and newly elected U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda, who will represent rural Oahu and the neighbor islands when she takes office in
January.
Senate President Ronald D. Kouchi (D, Kauai-Niihau) said in a statement:
“As we look forward to this period of Huliau or new beginnings, I look forward to working with Gov. Josh Green, Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, and their new administration. With many challenges facing the state, it is my hope that our three branches of government can work
collaboratively towards a common goal of improving the quality of life for the people of Hawaii.”
A procession included five of Green’s predecessors: former Govs. George Ariyoshi, John Waihee, Neil Abercrombie, Linda Lingle and David Ige, who wrapped up two terms and eight years in office with Green’s inauguration.
Noticeably absent were former Gov. Ben Cayetano, who was hospitalized earlier this year with heart issues, and former first lady Vicky Cayetano, who was beaten by Green in August following a bitter Democratic campaign for governor.
The ceremony began at
11 a.m., and the swearing-in ceremony was scheduled for noon, in accordance with the state Constitution.
But the events ran far ahead of schedule, and so the Royal Hawaiian Band and their singers had to play longer than expected — concluding with a set of Christmas songs — before Green and Luke could be sworn in at the appointed hour.
As the band played on, at one point singer Kala‘i Stern quipped, “This extended concert by the Royal Hawaiian Band has been brought to you by the clock.”
