Surrounded by supporters from across Hawaii’s political spectrum and played in by an unplanned and extended Christmas concert courtesy of the state Constitution and the Royal Hawaiian Band, Josh Green and Sylvia Luke took their oaths of office on Monday to begin their terms as Hawaii’s new governor and lieutenant governor.

What You Need To Know

  • In his first address as the state’s top executive, Green focused on his formative political experiences and how they will inform his administration’s approach to tackling homelessness, the housing crisis, poverty and climate change

  • The inauguration ceremony at the Blaisdell Arena was attended by former governors George Ariyoshi, John Waihee, Linda Lingle,  and Neil Abercrombie, as well as Green’s immediate predecessor David Ige, who entered the arena as governor and left as a private citizen

  • The pre-inauguration program ran ahead of schedule, prompting the Royal Hawaiian Band and singer Malia Kaai-Barrett to perform several musical numbers until the clock struck noon, the earliest the oaths of office can be performed under state law

  • Green said his administration will address “an epidemic of poverty and injustice in our own backyard” by eliminating “regressive” taxes

In his first address as the state’s top executive, Green focused on his formative political experiences and how they will inform his administration’s approach to tackling homelessness, the housing crisis, poverty and climate change.

“We can lead on the biggest challenges, friends, the challenges facing our country and our entire planet in the 21st century,” Green said. “And we can set an example. We can set an example for the whole world because people love Hawaii, and they will look at us and they will say we are taking action on housing, taking action on homelessness and poverty and climate change. But it will only happen if we truly come together and commit ourselves to putting our values of ohana and aloha into practice and making them a reality for everyone in the state of Hawaii.

“Let us lead by example, my friends,” he continued. “Let us find this moment. Find this moment and address it like a new beginning for our state. I am so honored to serve as your governor. I will be here for you day in and day out for the next four years. We are one ohana.”

The inauguration ceremony at the Blaisdell Arena was attended by former governors George Ariyoshi, John Waihee, Linda Lingle,  and Neil Abercrombie, as well as Green’s immediate predecessor David Ige, who entered the arena as governor and left as a private citizen. (Noticeably absent was former Gov. Ben Cayetano, who was highly critical of Green following the primary election in which Green defeated wife Vicky Cayetano.) Also in attendance were newly elected U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda; Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi; Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami; several members of the state Legislature, including House Speaker Scott Saiki and Senate President Ron Kouchi; and members of the Honolulu City Council.

The pre-inauguration program, which included the posting of colors by the Hawaii National Guard Joint Color Guard and Royal Guard, Pledge of Allegiance by Green’s children Maia and Sam, National Anthem, Hawaii Ponoi, Doxology and Queen’s Prayer ran ahead of schedule, prompting the Royal Hawaiian Band and singer Malia Kaai-Barrett to perform several musical numbers until the clock struck noon, the earliest the oaths of office can be performed under state law.

Danny Akaka Jr. offered the invocation, and Hawaii Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald administered the oaths.

As he did throughout his gubernatorial campaign, Green recounted his work as a doctor on the Big Island, the lessons he learned working with people from Naalehu, Punaluu and South Kona, and how the needs of those communities inspired him to run for the state Legislature. He also talked about his continuing efforts to address homelessness as a legislator and later as lieutenant governor, an effort that led to his involvement in the Kauhale Initiative, which develops master-planned communities of tiny homes.

“We learned lessons from experts all across Hawaii and around the world about building communities of tiny homes for those who are homeless right now and how that would make an actual difference,” Green said, praising the work of community leaders like Alani Apio, James Koshiba, “Auntie” Blanche McMillan and Twinkle Borge.

Green said he has already reached out to all four Hawaii mayors to advocate for kauhale projects in each county.

“It seems so simple,” he said. “Sometimes it feels complex, but we’ll choose parcels of land and partner with the private sector, just like we’ve done. The development community will build villages and support them with nurses and social workers and everyone else in Hawaii who wants to come together to lend a hand, which I’ll tell you is one heck of a lot of people. And to show you that our administration will not wait one minute to take action to help people, I’ll authorize the release of the $50 million of grants in aid before the end of this year.”

Green also recounted the now familiar story of how he and a rapidly assembled team of local health professionals undertook a medical mission to Samoa in 2019 to combat an outbreak of measles.

“In that moment, I realized there’s absolutely no challenge that the people of Hawaii can’t meet when we pull together,” he said.

The lesson, he said, was an invaluable touchstone as he and other Hawaii leaders responded to the emergent COVID-19 crisis just months later.

Our health experts told us that without decisive action, as many as 10,000 of our people, mostly kupuna, would pass away,” Green said. “But again, because of our values, we weren’t going to let that happen. We knew that we could pull together and put up a good fight and that fight saved lives. So, we masked up  and when vaccinations became available we set up vaccination clinics all across our state. Ultimately, because of the leadership of the governor and the Department of Health and so many champions here, we vaccinated a higher percentage of people than almost anywhere else in the whole world.

Green acknowledged that Hawaii’s relative safety—as measured by the lowest fatality rate in the country—was achieved with “incredible sacrifice.”

“Small businesses suffered; our economy slowed,” he said. “We did everything we could to support our people with the Safe Travels program and responsible guidelines, and it was difficult. Our teachers returned to work, even though there were too many keiki in each classroom for pandemic conditions and our correctional facilities’ prison workers battled outbreaks that couldn’t easily be prevented, as many of our most vulnerable people still weren’t vaccinated.

“Hotel employees, police firefighters, frontline workers everywhere, worked to keep us safe, stop the spread of the virus, and all across our state people did their best to keep us going, keep themselves alive, living their lives staying safe,” he said. “They went to work. We cared for one another protected our neighbors when we could and in the end in the end because of how we all are how we come together as one family, with aloha and a common purpose. Hawaii led the nation in almost every measure of success during this pandemic. We were the safest place in America. We were one ohana.”

Green said affordable housing remains a top priority, and he pledged to build thousands of new homes, turn thousands of illegal transient rental properties into affordable rentals, and work to get thousands of Hawaiian Homelands applicants off the waiting list.

He said his administration will also address “an epidemic of poverty and injustice in our own backyard” by eliminating “regressive” taxes.

Finally, Green said, his administration will work to advance renewable energy goals to help the state respond to the challenges of climate change.

We will lead on climate change where others just talk or refuse to act,” he said. “We’ll take our commitment from each and every one of us and make a difference. We can reach our ambitious renewable energy goals that have been fought for so passionately by all of these governors that sit in front of me, and we can reach those in the coming years by aggressively approving a range of renewable energy projects in our state.”

Luke, whose mother traveled from Georgia to attend the inauguration, harkened back to her childhood as an immigrant from Korea and the teachers, legislative leaders and colleagues who helped to guide her on her path to State Capitol’s fifth floor.

“In order for us to meet our kuleana our responsibility as public servants, the governor and the lieutenant governor need to work with the state Legislature with input from our communities to drive the change we need,” Luke said. “This became very clear to me as a lawmaker, and it compelled me to run for lieutenant governor. I am ready to serve.”

Luke said she and Green have agreed that she will initially focus on universal preschool and statewide access to technology.

“We all want our children to enter kindergarten prepared to succeed but this urgent need goes beyond educational equity,” Luke said. “It is a cost of living issue for so many of us who cannot afford steep tuitions for the few coveted preschool seats. The legislature has already provided funding for 2,000 to 4,000 new seats, which will get us off to a great start.”

Luke said the pandemic laid bare the need for every Hawaii resident to have access to computer technology.

“If the COVID 19 pandemic taught us anything, it’s that modern IT infrastructure and reliable high-speed internet are essential in state that stretches over several islands,” she said. “Reliable internet can provide access to telemedicine, high-quality distance learning and remote working. Modern IT infrastructure can streamline state services and make them more accessible throughout our archipelago. This is another area of change I am excited to meet as your lieutenant governor.”