Sen. Gil Keith-Agaran speaks during an event at the Nisei Veterans Memorial Center in Kahului on Sept. 4, 2021. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

Central Maui’s longtime state Sen. Gil Keith-Agaran announced he will retire Oct. 31, saying he didn’t want questions over conflicts of interest to be a “distraction” as his law firm prepares to represent clients in lawsuits over the Lahaina fire.

Keith-Agaran’s position as a lawmaker and an attorney could have put him in a questionable spot if his law firm had represented residents or businesses suing the state over the fires. Keith-Agaran’s firm, Takitani, Agaran, Jorgensen and Wildman, is among three firms that filed a lawsuit on Aug. 17 alleging that the Lahaina fire started when Hawaiian Electric’s power lines came in contact with brush. The three firms hosted a presentation and sign-up on Sunday for residents and business owners impacted by the fire.

Keith-Agaran, who faced questions from local media about the potential conflict of interest before announcing his retirement Wednesday, said he spoke to the staff of the state Ethics Commission “to get a feel on whether or not there was going to be issues.” He said based on conversations with the commission staff, he felt he would have had to choose between his family and community and protecting the state.

“Right now it’s theoretical. But I think they were sort of suggesting that even the appearance of a conflict is enough to raise a violation or create a violation. To me that’s a distraction from the real pain and the real issues that people are going through,” Keith-Agaran said Wednesday afternoon.

When asked if he stepped down to avoid a potential conflict of interest, Keith-Agaran said, “Yeah. … Given what we’re all going through right now, that’s just not something that’s worthwhile in the larger scheme of things for my family and for my law partners.”

Colin Moore, director of the University of Hawai’i Public Policy Center, said he wasn’t “terribly surprised” by Keith-Agaran’s decision.

“I think it’s a pretty clear calculation here where you’re a plaintiffs attorney. This is potentially the case of a lifetime,” Moore said Wednesday afternoon. “There’s just going to be millions and millions of dollars at stake. I’m sure that he doesn’t feel that he can represent his clients and be in the Legislature without questions of the ethical implications of that and just being dogged by reporters. I can’t say I’m terribly surprised.”

Moore said that “I do think that he had to choose” between being a lawmaker and being a lawyer in fire-related lawsuits. Keith-Agaran’s image had appeared on some ads for a presentation on fire lawsuits, and Moore said “using name and likeness to recruit clients that might bring a lawsuit against the state” also raised some questions.

“I do think he made the right decision to resign if he’s going to pursue this case,” Moore said.

Moore said Keith-Agaran wouldn’t have been the first lawyer turned lawmaker to find himself in that position — the Ethics Commission has ruled in the past that lawmakers can still operate as attorneys and represent clients suing the state. He said if Keith-Agaran had stayed in the Senate and retained his position as vice chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, he would have had to recuse himself from appropriating funds for any judgment against the state.

“My sense is that people understandably see this as a gray area,” Moore said. “It’s really more the optics than the official ethics, because aside from having to recuse himself about any action the state Legislature would take in response to that lawsuit, I think there’s not a formal ethics violation. It’s sort of a gray area. … I don’t actually think you would get a ruling from the Ethics Commission that would go against that, but I think the optics would be pretty bad.”

Politically, Moore thinks Keith-Agaran’s departure is “bad for the county, because it’s going to lose this potentially powerful advocate at the state level.” Keith-Agaran held a key leadership position on the money-focused Ways and Means Committee and brought in millions for Maui County — a Civil Beat analysis in July found his district landed in the top 10 for capital improvement projects funding with $89.5 million in fiscal years 2024 and 2025. The districts of Maui County’s other two senators, Lynn DeCoite and Angus McKelvey, also made the top 10 list.

Keith-Agaran said he doesn’t think his retirement will negatively impact the Maui delegation or funding for the county.

“There’s a lot of goodwill in the state Senate for Maui, so I’m not worried that losing just one person will have a tremendous impact on getting the help for Maui from the Legislature. … No one is indispensable,” he said.

Keith-Agaran said he had made the decision about two weeks ago to step down, shortly after the Aug. 8 fire destroyed the homes and businesses of family members who lived and worked in Lahaina. He said some loved ones have died and others are still missing. Keith-Agaran said he spoke to the Ethics Commission staff as his law firm prepared to take on lawsuits related to the fire.

The Democratic senator said that he decided to retire Oct. 31 to give party officials and the governor time to find a replacement, and because the Senate will be considering the confirmation of two Hawaii Supreme Court justices in October.

Keith-Agaran was first appointed to serve as the representative for House District 9 in 2009 following the death of former Rep. Bob Nakasone. In 2013, he was appointed to his current role as senator for District 5 after Shan Tsutsui became lieutenant governor. He has served as vice chair of the Ways and Means Committee since 2018 and previously chaired the Judiciary committees of both the House and the Senate.

The Democratic Party must identify three names to potentially replace Keith-Agaran that will be sent to Gov. Josh Green for consideration. Green will have 60 days to fill the vacancy.

Three current lawmakers’ districts overlap Keith-Agaran’s — Reps. Justin Woodson, Troy Hashimoto and Elle Cochran, though Cochran lives in West Maui. Keith-Agaran said he could also see local union leaders or former politicians vying for the spot, though they will have to apply and go through the vetting process.

*Managing Editor Colleen Uechi can be reached at cuechi@mauinews.com.