A day earlier, Gov. Neil Abercrombie said he looked forward to the “scramble” that would take place in the Senate after the promotion of Senate President Shan Tsutsui to lieutenant governor.

The scramble took less than 24 hours to complete, as Senate Democrats on Friday announced a reorganization behind Vice President Donna Mercado Kim (D, Kalihi Valley-Moanalua-Halawa).

Sen. Ronald Kouchi (Kauai-Niihau) will serve as Senate vice president and Sen. Brickwood Galuteria (D, Kakaako-McCully-Waikiki) wil continue on as Majority Leader. Sen. David Ige (D, Pearl Harbor-Pearl City-Aiea) also retains his chairmanship of the important Ways and Means Committee.

Senators say there was a strong desire to reorganize quickly and have as little disruption as possible, with Kim, the vice president and presiding officer following Tsutsui’s departure, being a logical choice to assume the role of president.

Below, the press release from the Senate Majority with details of the committee assignments:

Kim_News Release