Editorial: Investigation into Sylvia Luke needs full transparency

A public uproar has ensued over Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke’s disclosure that in January 2022, while chair of the powerful House Finance Committee, she accepted $10,000 from a “constituent” at a dinner attended by Ty Cullen, then vice chair — and now a disgraced ex-con, having served federal prison time after admitting
he accepted bribes repeatedly throughout his terms in the state Legislature.

Luke’s revelation, made on Monday, has caused turmoil in state government and raises a host of severe questions and concerns. On Thursday, Gov. Josh Green canceled an upcoming planned trip to the National Governors Association meeting in D.C. amid calls for Luke’s resignation and suggestions she should not serve as acting governor; in fact, he’s canceled all out-of-state travel for this month. And news broke that the constituent donor, Tobi Solidum, a well-connected lobbyist whom Luke described as a “neighbor” who sometimes made donations and sometimes took her to dinner, is being investigated for federal crimes. The web of connections this suggests between Luke, Solidum and Cullen — the latter two involved in a range of suspect transactions — is not pleasant to consider.

A first necessity for this ugly situation is that Luke, the state and the public come to an agreement on the propriety of her remaining in office — well ahead of her reelection bid coming this fall.

As Green has stated, a full investigation and disclosure of all the facts must take place as quickly as possible. However, lapses in Luke’s
judgment are already clear. Her
association with Solidum and failure to be “scrupulous,” as she claimed during her 2022 campaign, in reporting legally required information have already tainted her tenure in office. At minimum, Luke should place herself or be placed on leave until the state determines how serious her lapses are.

It’s been more than three years since Luke had dinner with Solidum and Cullen. She says Solidum suggested she bring Cullen along. At that dinner, Cullen may have been wired: He’d been arrested on federal charges a year earlier for taking bribes, and evidently agreed to record fellow legislators.

Prosecutors have stated that in January 2022, Cullen recorded a conversation with “an influential state legislator” who accepted “approximately $35,000 … purportedly to be used in an existing campaign.”

But the meeting only came to light in March 2025, when it was reported by online news outlet Civil Beat. After many months of inaction, then public outcry, Hawaii’s attorney general (AG) finally began investigating; Luke did not come forward about her meeting with
Solidum and Cullen until the AG and governor declared an investigation would begin.

Luke said last week she might be the aforementioned “influential state legislator” though $35,000 was not exchanged. She also said the money was a straightforward donation, and she did not believe she had violated any laws. However,
details of the transaction she describes muddy the explanation: While the $10,000 was quickly deposited in her campaign fund, the two checks totaling that amount weren’t reported to the Campaign Spending Commission, as required by state law.

Luke says she sent checks returning the donations soon after Cullen resigned from the House — but only recently discovered that they were never cashed, leaving the money in her fund until she was well into her lieutenant governor term. She finally checked last year, then acted to correct the situation by sending the money in question to the commission and seeking to amend this month her campaign report about the 2022 transaction.

The Cullen-Solidum connections look bad, and the failure to disclose the campaign donations make things worse. The AG’s investigation surely will show evidence of campaign or ethical violations, or perhaps more. Luke said failure to report the donations was a clerical oversight by staffers.

This issue will not fall out of the public eye any time soon. Island voters are loyal, sometimes to a fault, but they detest abuse of the taxpayer dollar — and once it’s revealed, will not tolerate criminal
behavior, much less corrupt self-
enrichment, by elected officials carried to office by public trust and employed on the public dime.

The federal prosecutions of Cullen and ex-Sen. J. Kalani English, once powerful state legislators now convicted for honest services wire fraud — defrauding the public and repeatedly taking bribes to influence legislation — stunned and angered voters, and the state erupted with calls to reign in public corruption. But as that controversy and aftermath swirled around her, Luke did not reveal her meeting with Cullen and Solidum. Nor did she verify that the $10,000 in donations had been recorded, as required by law — until, that is, the AG’s investigation was launched; indeed, it was announced Friday that AG subpoenas have already been issued.

Hawaii voters are due not merely lawful, but honest and responsible performance by our public servants. Luke’s actions and any breaches of this duty must be fully disclosed; this will determine what comes next for the lieutenant governor — and for governance over this state of Hawaii.