HSTA issues statement supporting Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke

She’s praised for being ‘a strong advocate for Hawaiʻi’s public schools’

March 4, 2026

The Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association Board of Directors, made up of elected educator volunteers from across the islands, on Saturday authorized the following supportive statement regarding Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke which asks the public to hold judgment until the state Attorney General’s investigation is complete.

In doing so, the HSTA joins our union siblings from several other major Hawaiʻi unions in issuing statements backing Luke, including the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU Local 142) and the United Public Workers (UPW).

Here is HSTA’s statement:

In this age where political corruption and cronyism are now commonplace in daily national headlines, it’s important that we be vigilant about weeding these things out at all levels. However, pursuing political witch hunts that attempt to vilify government officials based on manufactured outrage and unfounded rumors is not an appropriate way to exercise vigilance.

There is no doubt that Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke has made a few mistakes related to past campaign donations – mistakes she has forthrightly come forward about. As educators, we often teach by pointing out mistakes and ensuring that our keiki learn from them and grow. We have no doubt that the lieutenant governor is learning a hard lesson, but also that she has the potential to grow stronger and wiser from this experience.

This process has been extremely frustrating to witness and has provided fodder for media outlets to sensationalize. The timeline has not been of Sylvia Luke’s making. In the political arena, claws come out at every misstep, and this situation presents a prime opportunity for others to slash at the lieutenant governor with the hopes of smearing both her name and reputation and taking her down. We are also not ignorant of the fact that one of the legislators who accepted lavish gifts was also desperate to try to bring someone else down to reduce his own sentence.

Sylvia Luke has been and continues to be a fighter – a champion for those who wouldn’t otherwise have a voice. Raised in a humble immigrant family and educated in public schools, she has shown that the American Dream is within reach for any of our keiki who aspire to achieve great things.

She is an imperfect human being, as we all are, not willing to give up on her American dream, and she will not let others take her down as they salivate at the thought of smearing her out of office.

Sylvia Luke continues to do great things. Families struggle to afford childcare in an increasingly unaffordable Hawaiʻi. The lieutenant governor took the issue head-on with her Ready Keiki initiative and has now opened over 100 public pre-kindergarten classrooms throughout the state. This has directly benefited thousands of families and is an important investment in our state’s future.

At the start of the COVID-19 global pandemic, Sylvia Luke saw the state’s slow, bumbling response to the massive unemployment crisis affecting our heavily tourism-dependent economy. She spearheaded the effort to quickly stand up a massive processing center at the Hawaiʻi Convention Center to more quickly address mounting claims and bring relief to thousands desperate to just get by during those difficult times.

The Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association believes in the principle of innocent until proven guilty and we stand by Sylvia Luke as the investigative process continues. We ask that the public not buy into the hysteria and hype without solid facts. Until then, we applaud the lieutenant governor as she continues to be a strong advocate for Hawaiʻi’s public schools and helps to achieve our goal of providing our communities the schools our keiki deserve.

Original Post at hsta.org