Shan S. Tsutsui (born August 9, 1971) is an American politician who was the 12th

lieutenant governor of Hawaii The lieutenant governor of Hawaii ( haw, Hope kiaʻāina o Hawaiʻi) is the assistant chief executive of the U.S. state of Hawaii and its various agencies and departments, as provided in the Article V, Sections 2 though 6 of the Constitution of H ...

from 2012 to 2018. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, he was previously a member of the

Hawaii Senate The Hawaii Senate is the upper house of the Hawaii State Legislature. It consists of twenty-five members elected from an equal number of constituent districts across the islands and is led by the President of the Senate, elected from the membe ...

from 2003 to 2012, and he served as

President of the Senate President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for e ...

from 2010 to 2012. On January 29, 2018, Tsutsui announced his resignation, which was put into effect on January 31.

Early life and education

Born in

Wailuku Wailuku is a census-designated place (CDP) in and county seat of Maui County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 17,697 at the 2020 census. Wailuku is located just west of Kahului, at the mouth of the Iao Valley. In the early 20th centur ...

, Tsutsui graduated from

Maui High School Maui High School is a public high school founded in 1913 in Hamakuapoko, a sugarcane plantation town on the island of Maui in Hawaii. In 1972, the school moved to its new location in Kahului, Hawaii. Old Maui High School The original school was ...

in 1989 and received a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in Economics from the

University of Hawaii A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

in 1994.

Senate

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,

, and

Kahului Kahului () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Maui County in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It hosts the county's main airport (Kahului Airport), deep-draft harbor, light industrial areas, and commercial shopping centers. The population was 26,337 ...

. Subsequently he represented district 5.

Lieutenant Governor

Following the death of U.S. Senator

Daniel Inouye Daniel Ken Inouye ( ; September 7, 1924 – December 17, 2012) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Hawaii from 1963 until his death in 2012. Beginning in 1959, he was the first U.S. representative f ...

, Governor

Neil Abercrombie Neil Abercrombie (born June 26, 1938) is an American politician who served as the seventh governor of Hawaii from 2010 to 2014. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Born in Buffalo, New York, Abercrombie is a graduate of Union College and th ...

appointed Lieutenant Governor

Brian Schatz Brian Emanuel Schatz (; born October 20, 1972) is an American educator and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Hawaii, a seat he has held since 2012. A member of the Democratic Party, Schatz served in the Hawaii House o ...

to replace Inouye in the U.S. Senate. As president of the Hawaii Senate, Tsutsui was first in line to replace Schatz as lieutenant governor. After consulting with his family, Senate leaders, and Governor Abercrombie, Tsutsui accepted the position. 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. 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. Tsutsui was elected to a second term as lieutenant governor in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

. Tsutsui had expected to share the ticket with Abercrombie in the general election, but Ige defeated Abercrombie in the primary. He announced in October 2017 that he would not run for a third term as lieutenant governor in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, even though he was eligible to do so because his first term was only the completion of an unexpired term. Tsutsui resigned as Lieutenant Governor effective January 31, 2018, to take a job with Strategies 360, a communications firm.

Personal

Tsutsui and his wife Lyndelle have three daughters, Mikayla, Kaylee and Kenna.

Electoral history

References

External links

Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii
* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Tsutsui, Shan 1971 births 21st-century American politicians Hawaii politicians of Japanese descent Democratic Party Hawaii state senators Lieutenant Governors of Hawaii Living people People from Maui Presidents of the Hawaii Senate University of Hawaiʻi alumni