Hawaii’s Democrat Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke Indicted in COVID Contract Bribery Scheme

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Hawaii Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, a Democrat, has been indicted by an Oahu grand jury on charges she orchestrated a scheme trading COVID-19 testing contracts for campaign cash, the latest sign of the pay-to-play culture critics say has taken hold in one-party Democratic strongholds.

The 12-count indictment accuses Luke of criminal conspiracy to commit bribery and falsifying candidate committee reports, offenses that carry up to 10 years in prison. Five co-defendants were charged alongside her: businessman Tobi Solidum, former Democratic state Rep. Ryan Yamane, Department of Transportation airports administrator Ford Fuchigami, and former Public Utilities Commission Chairman Leo Asuncion.

Prosecutors say the scheme unfolded at a January 2022 meeting at a steakhouse, where Solidum handed Luke two checks worth $5,000 apiece made out to her campaign committee. He allegedly promised tens of thousands more in exchange for steering a COVID-19 testing contract to the National Kidney Foundation of Hawaii, a client of his.

Gov. Josh Green, also a Democrat, distanced himself from his second in command Saturday, telling Politico that Luke should consider stepping down. “The Attorney General announced significant developments in her department’s corruption investigation and has provided an update on their findings,” Green said. “The Lieutenant Governor needs to consider formally resigning to address this matter and so that the state of Hawaii can move forward.”

Green’s comments mark a notable break from a fellow Democrat facing felony charges, though he stopped short of demanding Luke’s ouster.

Luke has been on an unpaid, indefinite leave of absence since April 23, when the state attorney general’s office first informed her she was the target of a bribery investigation. She abandoned her reelection bid that same day but has refused to resign her current post, denying wrongdoing despite the grand jury’s findings.

The indictment adds Luke to a growing list of Hawaii Democrats ensnared in corruption cases in recent years, fueling long-standing complaints from Republicans and government watchdogs that the state’s single-party dominance has bred a culture of insider dealing with little outside check. Hawaii’s legislature and executive branch have been controlled by Democrats for decades, and critics argue the lack of real two-party competition allowed a scheme like the one described in Thursday’s indictment to flourish unchecked until prosecutors intervened.

Solidum’s alleged offer, made over dinner and sealed with a pair of campaign checks, fits a pattern prosecutors have flagged before in Hawaii, where contractors and officials operate in a small, insular political ecosystem. The case echoes other bribery prosecutions that have touched the state’s Democratic establishment, reinforcing arguments from conservatives that entrenched one-party rule invites this kind of corruption.

For now, Luke remains lieutenant governor in name only, sidelined but still in office.