Hawaii’s new Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke mapped out a serious plan to help Hawaii’s youngest get an early education and to bring high-speed internet to remote communities across the state — but first, minutes into her first day on the job Monday, she poked some fun.
Her lighthearted barbs focused on former legislative colleagues, outgoing Gov. David Ige and the height difference between herself and her new boss, and Luke did not spare herself as she embarked on her new job for the next four years as lieutenant governor.
In her prepared remarks, Luke said she was accepting her new responsibilities with “humility and gratitude … but also excitement … and determination to work with Gov. (Josh) Green to make life here better for all of us.”
But before, in preceding off-the-cuff remarks, Luke prodded the power brokers she’s worked with at the state Capitol for the past
24 years.
Following their Democratic Party primary victories, Green and Luke teamed up as a ticket and shared with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that their shared elbow-in-the ribs sarcasm might create problems. That was amplified Monday:
>> Luke introduced her in-laws sitting in the Neal
S. Blaisdell Arena audience and said, “They treated me like their own daughter, and sometimes I think they like me more than my husband. My mother-in-law said, ‘Yes.’”
>> She called on House Speaker Scott Saiki, an ally during her 24 years in the House, and said, “It is really bittersweet. He’s smiling right now. You rarely see him smile.”
>> Her House colleagues, she said, “have trusted me. They have cared for me, but it’s odd that I walk out (onto the Blaisdell floor) and nobody greeted me. But I go to the Senate side and every one of them hugged and kissed me. I’m just very puzzled about our relationship. So I’m going to give a lot more love to you (Senate) folks. If you need my help on the fifth floor (of the state Capitol) … come any time. For Scott, you need to make an appointment. … They’re just happy to get rid of me.”
>> “But I have a request for the Senate: Please be kind to the House. Please do not roll them over just because I am gone.”
>> “I have a message for the House as well,” Luke said: “What are you going to do without me? Seriously. But, please, if you need my help, I am always open and available, and come and see me.”
>> Luke called on newly elected House members Darius Kila (D, Waianae-Makaha) and Rachele
Fernandez Lamosao (D, Waipahu) and asked them to stand together and be recognized, then pointed out that “Darius is four times the size of Rachele.”
>> Luke then turned
to the height difference between her and Green and said, “Josh is lucky to have me because whenever we walk into a room, he looks 6 feet tall. So without saying a single word, he’s going to have presence, and he’s going to have his stature. And then he’s going to come closer to you and you’re like, ‘Oh, she’s just short.’”
>> Luke introduced the three county mayors in attendance and said, “These individuals are very special because they take care of infrastructure needs. So if you have potholes in your neighborhood, please do not call the governor’s office. Please call these individuals. … This is a public service announcement on behalf of Josh Green.”
>> “I am feeling so many emotions right now,” Luke said. “Certainly — and this is a tribute to Gov. Ige because he uses ‘certainly’ much more than it seems, like in every speech that
he has ‘certainly.’ … As a tribute to him, in my first speech, I’m going to use ‘certainly.’ … So certainly,
I feel humility and gratitude but also excitement about the work ahead, the promise of what we can accomplish together and determination to work with Gov. Green to make life here better for all of us.”
Speaking of her own command of the language, Luke then said, “As many of your know, I came to Hawaii from South Korea as a 9-year-old. I spoke no English. And sometimes Scott Nishimoto (D, Moiliili-McCully) will say, ‘You still don’t speak good English.’” From her first day at school, her homeroom teacher spent every day after school teaching Luke English.
“That experience shaped my life,” Luke said. “It taught me that we have to work together.”
