A career public servant has taken up the mantle of Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke’s role after she took an indefinite unpaid leave of absence.
Keith Regan has become acting lieutenant governor for the state of Hawaiʻi while serving concurrently as the state comptroller. He previously worked for the County of Maui and the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority.
HPR had the opportunity to speak with the state’s newest lieutenant governor about how he balances the role with his other full-time job: running the state Department of Accounting and General Services.
Interview Highlights
On becoming lieutenant governor
ACTING LT. GOV. KEITH REGAN: I’ve been a public servant now for more than 19 years, and one of the things that I've learned over that span of time is that when you're asked to serve in roles that you're not maybe expecting, that you need to step up and be available to those who are counting on you, and that has been my entire approach throughout my my entire career in government, whether it be at the local level or at the state level.
When I took the job three years ago, I understood that with that, with this position as comptroller, that I had a certain responsibility, not only to the department, and not only statutory responsibilities, but even from a potential succession responsibility that exists within that framework. … And so I continued to do my work, and when this situation presented itself, it was something that I was prepared to at least explore and understand and determine whether or not it was right.
On balancing his workload
REGAN: It's been workable at this point. I don't know how long I can sustain it, but I will say that, as I mentioned in that article, I have tremendous respect for Lt. Gov. Luke, and I have the utmost and tremendous respect for my boss, Gov. Green, as well as an understanding that the team that's there, both in the lieutenant governor's office and within my DAGS team, both need that continued nurturing support and guidance. And for me, I just feel like it's an opportunity to provide that support to them in a respectful, meaningful way, to bring some stability to the team while we're in these relatively unstable times.
On restoring public faith amid Sylvia Luke’s investigation
REGAN: I will just say that there are many good public servants that dedicate themselves, day in and day out, to ensure the government functions properly and that we carry out our responsibilities on a daily basis. There are really great people working for state government and working for county government who care about what they're doing. They're not just there for a paycheck. They're not there for any other reason, but because they really believe in what they're doing.
And I would say that a majority of those people are working every single day hard to make sure that they can earn the public's trust and deliver the services that the public rely upon. That's the story that I've come across in my 19 years of working in government service at various levels, is that public servants really believe in what they're doing. And I would just ask the public to be patient and allow the process to work itself out, and that an outcome will come forward out of that process.
This story aired on The Conversation on May 5, 2026. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Jinwook Lee adapted this story for the web
