HONOLULU — Former U.S. Rep. Ed Case said Friday he’s going to work for Outrigger Enterprises Group and will likely end his political career.
HONOLULU — Former U.S. Rep. Ed Case said Friday he’s going to work for Outrigger Enterprises Group and will likely end his political career.
In an email to supporters titled “Turning The Page,” Case said he will be senior vice president and chief legal officer for the Hawaii-based hotel chain.
“With this new path, I won’t be a candidate for public office as long as I’m with Outrigger. Since I hope that’s a long time, this likely ends any further political career,” Case wrote. “But I fully intend to continue to participate in the public life of our Hawaii and country and look forward to those opportunities.”
The Democrat represented rural Oahu and the neighbor islands in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2002 to 2007 and served in the state Legislature before that. He’s been an attorney at the Honolulu firm Bays, Lung, Rose & Holma since he unsuccessfully challenged then-Sen. Daniel Akaka in the Democratic primary in 2006.
Last year, Case lost to Mazie Hirono in the Democratic primary to succeed Akaka in the Senate.
Case thanked his supporters and told them Outrigger was an opportunity he couldn’t resist.
“Like so many of you, I practically grew up with Outrigger. A now-66 year old local company which has stayed true to its Hawaii roots and values, Outrigger wrote the book on Hawaii’s travel and tourism industry and, with its 4,200 employees, is central to 25 percent-plus of Hawaii’s economy,” he wrote in his email.
Outrigger said in a news release Case will manage the company’s legal affairs, including helping with the acquisition, development and management of real estate.
He starts July 22.
He replaces Donna Leong, who was hired by Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell earlier this year to serve as the city’s corporate counsel.