Shan S. Tsutsui (born August 9, 1971) is an American politician who was the 13th lieutenant governor of Hawaii from 2012 to 2018. A member of the Democratic Party, he was previously a member of the Hawaii Senate from 2003 to 2012, and he served as President of the Senate from 2010 to 2012.[1] On January 29, 2018, Tsutsui announced his resignation, which was put into effect on January 31.

Shan Tsutsui
Tsutsui in 2015
13th Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii
In office
December 27, 2012 – January 31, 2018
GovernorNeil Abercrombie
David Ige
Preceded byBrian Schatz
Succeeded byDoug Chin
12th President of the Hawaii Senate
In office
November 6, 2010 – December 27, 2012
Preceded byColleen Hanabusa
Succeeded byDonna Mercado Kim
Personal details
Born (1971-08-09) August 9, 1971 (age 52)
Wailuku, Hawaii, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseLyndelle Lee
EducationUniversity of Hawaii at Manoa (BA)

Early life and education edit

Born in Wailuku, Tsutsui graduated from Maui High School in 1989 and received a B.A. in Economics from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in 1994.[2]

Senate edit

Tsutsui was a member of the Hawaii Senate from 2003 until becoming lieutenant governor in 2012. From 2003 to 2011, he represented district 4, which includes Waihee, Wailuku, and Kahului.[3] Subsequently he represented district 5.

Lieutenant governor edit

Following the death of U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye, Governor Neil Abercrombie appointed Lieutenant Governor Brian Schatz to replace Inouye in the U.S. Senate.[4] As president of the Hawaii Senate, Tsutsui was first in line to replace Schatz as lieutenant governor.[4] After consulting with his family, Senate leaders, and Governor Abercrombie, Tsutsui accepted the position.[5] Tsutsui's successor in the Senate (who served until 2014) was selected by Governor Abercrombie from a list of three names submitted by the local Democratic Party central committee.[5] Tsutsui's position as Senate president was filled by Senate vice president Donna Mercado Kim until Senate members voted on a new president on the opening day of the 2013 session.[5]

Tsutsui was elected to a second term as lieutenant governor in 2014. Tsutsui had expected to share the ticket with Abercrombie in the general election, but Ige defeated Abercrombie in the primary.[6] He announced in October 2017 that he would not run for a third term as lieutenant governor in 2018, even though he was eligible to do so because his first term was only the completion of an unexpired term.[7]

Tsutsui resigned as lieutenant governor effective January 31, 2018, to take a job with Strategies 360, a communications firm.[8]

Personal edit

 
Tsutsui in 2011

Tsutsui and his wife Lyndelle have three daughters, Mikayla, Kaylee and Kenna.[2][9]

Electoral history edit

Hawai'i State Senate District 4 Democratic Primary Election, 2002
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Shan Tsutsui 4,255 53.12
Democratic Jan Yagi Buen 2,921 36.47
Democratic Thomas Cerizo 834 10.41
Hawai'i State Senate District 4 Election, 2002
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Shan Tsutsui n/a 100.00
Hawai'i State Senate District 4 Election, 2004
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Shan Tsutsui (inc.) n/a 100.00
Hawai'i State Senate District 4 Democratic Primary Election, 2006
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Shan Tsutsui (inc.) 6,177 68.32
Democratic Jan Yagi Buen 2,864 31.68
Hawai'i State Senate District 4 Election, 2006
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Shan Tsutsui (inc.) n/a 100.00
Hawai'i State Senate District 4 Election, 2008
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Shan Tsutsui (inc.) n/a 100.00
Hawai'i State Senate District 4 Election, 2010
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Shan Tsutsui (inc.) 10,931 77.83
Republican Eric Seibert 3,113 22.17
Hawai'i State Senate District 5 Election, 2012
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Shan Tsutsui (inc.) n/a 100.00
Hawai'i Lieutenant Governor Democratic Primary, 2014
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Shan Tsutsui (inc.) 120,779 47.36
Democratic Clayton Hee 81,255 36.11
Democratic Mary Zanakis 18,274 8.12
Democratic Miles Shiratori 2,593 1.15
Democratic Sam Puletasi 2,126 0.94

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Osher, Wendy (December 14, 2012). "House Leadership to be Determined on Opening Day". Maui News.
  2. ^ a b "Senator Shan S. Tsutsui". capitol.hawaii.gov. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  3. ^ "State Senate chooses Donna Kim as new president". Honolulu Star Advertiser. December 28, 2012.
  4. ^ a b "Hawaii governor names Democrat, Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz, to succeed Inouye in US Senate". Associated Press. December 26, 2012.
  5. ^ a b c Tran, Cam (December 27, 2012). "Tsutsui's promotion causes ripple effect: Senate to vote on new president on opening day". KITV. Archived from the original on January 27, 2013.
  6. ^ "Hawaii General Election 2014" (PDF). Hawaii Office of Elections. November 4, 2014. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  7. ^ Imada, Lee (October 22, 2017). "Tsutsui to pass on mayoral run in Maui County". The Maui News. Wailuku, Hawaii. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  8. ^ Dayton, Kevin (January 29, 2018). "Tsutsui resigning as lieutenant governor to join private sector". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  9. ^ "Lieutenant Governor's Biography | Shan S. Tsutsui". Archived from the original on 2013-03-08.

External links edit

Political offices
Preceded by President of the Hawaii Senate
2010–2012
Succeeded by
Preceded by Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii
2012–2018
Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii
2014
Succeeded by