Judiciary and Lieutenant Governor
In 1970, Doi left the Hawaiʻi State Legislature, after being appointed to the Hawaii State Judiciary as a circuit court judge where he served for five years. Also in 1970, Doi entered the race for Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii, at first aligning himself with fellow Democrat and gubernatorial candidate Thomas Gill. After disagreements with Gill on commitments on political appointments, Doi decided to run independently (Coffman). Ultimately, both Gill and Doi were defeated by John A. Burns and George Ariyoshi, respectively.
In 1974, Doi was chosen as the running mate for George Ariyoshi. Fourteen months earlier, Ariyoshi, the previous Lieutenant Governor, became Acting Governor upon the incapacitating illness of longtime Governor John A. Burns. Ariyoshi and Doi emerged victorious, becoming the first-ever Japanese Americans to hold simultaneously the Governor and Lieutenant Governor posts of any state in the U.S.
Read more about this topic: Nelson Doi
Famous quotes containing the words judiciary and/or governor:
“The judiciary has fallen to a very low state in this country. I think your part of the country has suffered especially. The federal judges of the South are a disgrace to any country, and I’ll be damned if I put any man on the bench of whose character and ability there is the least doubt.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)
“It is better to have the power of self-protection than to depend on any man, whether he be the Governor in his chair of State, or the hunted outlaw wandering through the night, hungry and cold and with murder in his heart.”
—Lillie Devereux Blake (1835–1913)