Hawaii lieutenant governor to resign, join lobbying firm
HONOLULU — Hawaii Lt. Gov. Shan Tsutsui said Monday he would resign this week to join a lobbying and public affairs firm. The move comes several years after Tsutsui publicly complained the governor hadn’t given him enough responsibility, but he said his decision had nothing to do with that.
Tsutsui, a Democrat, had earlier said he did not plan to run for re-election. His resignation is effective Wednesday.
The Senate president is next in line for the job, which pays an annual salary of nearly $152,000. But Senate President Ronald Kouchi said he’s not interested.
The House speaker has the next spot in the line of succession. House Speaker Scott Saiki hasn’t commented.