HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Longtime state Rep. Sylvia Luke confirmed Monday that she’s running for Hawaii’s lieutenant governor position.
Luke was first elected to state office in 1998, and represents the Makiki, Punchbowl, and Nuuanu areas.
For the last decade, she’s served as chair of the powerful House Finance Committee.
In a statement released Monday, she said in part, “That experience has given me insight into the wide-ranging needs of the state and has also allowed me to work with many individuals and agencies to create laws that lay the foundation for significant progress in several important areas.”
If elected lieutenant governor, she said she will focus on increasing stock of affordable housing in Hawaii, ensure pre-K education is available for students, and use vacant school lands for teacher housing.
Luke is a UH Manoa alumna who later obtained a law degree from the University of San Francisco Law School in 1995.
The race for lieutenant governor so far has two other candidates: former state Sen. Jill Tokuda, and former City Councilman Ikaika Anderson.