Keith Regan

Keith Regan
Acting Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii
Incumbent
Assumed office
April 23, 2026
GovernorJosh Green
Preceded bySylvia Luke
Comptroller of Hawaii
Incumbent
Assumed office
March 25, 2023
On leave: April 23, 2026 – present
GovernorJosh Green
DeputyMeoh-Leng Silliman
Preceded byAudrey Hidano
Personal details
BornKeith Allen Regan
1971 (age 54–55)
Lawrence, Massachusetts, U.S.
PartyDemocratic
Spouse
Lynn Araki
​
(m. 2003)​
Children1
EducationDeVry University (BS)
University of Phoenix (MBA)
University of Southern California (MPA)
  1. 1 2 Regan serves as acting LG while Sylvia Luke is on leave, while Meoh-Leng Silliman is acting comptroller in his stead.

Keith Allen Regan (born 1971) is an American politician who currently serves as the Comptroller of Hawaii and Director of Department of Accounting and General Services since March 25, 2023. He has also served as acting lieutenant governor of Hawaii since April 2026.

Early life

Keith Regan was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts in 1971 and raised in North Andover, Massachusetts. He graduated high school in 1988 and then moved with his family to Maui that same year. His father had worked for the EPA. The family decided to move to Hawaii after a vacation and realizing the natural beauty of the islands.

Regan earned a Master's public administration from the University of Southern California and attended a program for government executives at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

In 1995, Regan started Hawaiʻi Cartage Inc., a trucking company.

Political career

Maui politics

He served as finance director from January 2, 2003 to July 16, 2004, and managing director from July 16, 2004 to 2007 and from 2011 to 2018 in Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa's administration.

Regan ran for a Wailuku residency seat on the Maui City Council in 2016, but finished in third during the primary. He won 6,017 votes or about 22.3%.

State politics

Regan was appointed as the Chief Administrative Officer of the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) on December 10, 2018, starting on December 17, 2018. He was praised for his efforts of rebuilding the tourism industry after the COVID pandemic. HTA announced on July 8, 2022, that Regan would be resigning to move to the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, effective on August 3, 2022. On August 3, 2022, he became a Business Management Officer at the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs until March 2023, when he became State Comptroller.

Comptroller

On December 1, 2022, then Governor-Elect Josh Green announced Regan as his nominee to be the Comptroller of the Department of Accounting and General Services. On March 9, 2023, the Hawaii Senate Committee on Government Operations voted 5–0 in favor of Regan's confirmation and he was then confirmed by the full Hawaii Senate unanimously, 24–0, on March 25, 2023.

During his tenure, Regan helped to develop the New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District Project, building a new jail on O‘ahu, the renovation of the state Capitol, and revamping DAGS’ Enterprise Financial System.

Acting Lieutenant Governor

On April 23, 2026, he was then appointed as the acting lieutenant governor of Hawaii due to Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke's decision to take a leave of absence due to an ongoing scandal. He was chosen after the Senate President, Ron Kouchi, House Speaker, Nadine Nakamura and Attorney General, Anne E. Lopez, all declined to accept the acting position. Kouchi and Nakamura declined due to their re-election bids. Regan also confirmed that he is not interested in running in the 2026 primary for Lieutenant Governor.

Personal life

Regan met his wife, Lynn Araki, through their participation at the Kiwanis Club. They were married in 2003. Araki's family has been in Hawaii for four generations, with her ancestors emigrating from Japan to work on plantations.

Araki-Regan now works as an attorney doing administrative services at Hawaii's Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. Prior to this, she worked as a state tax collector and was the first deputy director of Hawaii's Transportation Department. She worked in the Arakawa administration as Chief of Staff, budget director and acting managing director.

On July 20, 2007, Regan was one of two people in Maui to get botulism.

During his 2016 City Council Campaign, Regan mentioned he also was a former board member of the Maui Memorial Medical Center Foundation, a former president for the California-Nevada-Hawai‘i district of the Kiwanis Club, and the former president Japanese Cultural Society of Maui. From 2017 to 2018, Regan was a board member of Boy Scouts of America in Maui County Council and of the Japanese Cultural Society of Maui. In 2018, he was also the President and CEO of Credit Associates of Maui, which is a debt collector. From 2023 to 2024, Regan was the treasurer of Boy Scouts of America in Maui County Council. Regan and his wife also host a podcast called “Life, Leadership and Love.”, which they started in 2025.

Their only child graduated from UCLA in June 2026.

References

  1. 1 2 "Keith A. Regan". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. July 22, 2016. Retrieved July 25, 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Dobbyn, Paula (May 9, 2026). "From trucking to technocrat: How did former Maui official Keith Regan land in state's second-highest post?". Mauinow. Retrieved July 25, 2026.
  3. 1 2 "GOVERNOR GREEN NAMES KEITH REGAN AS ACTING LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR". April 23, 2026. Retrieved July 25, 2026.
  4. 1 2 "OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR — NEWS RELEASE — GOVERNOR GREEN NAMES KEITH REGAN AS ACTING LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR". April 23, 2026. Retrieved July 25, 2026.
  5. ↑ Nakaso, Dan (May 4, 2026). "Hawaii's acting Lt. Gov. Keith Regan pulls double duty". Hawaii Tribune-Herald. Retrieved July 25, 2026.
  6. ↑ Hurley, Timothy (November 22, 2002). "Maui mayor-elect selects planning director". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. p. 21. Retrieved July 25, 2026.
  7. 1 2 Hurley, Timothy (July 17, 2004). "Maui managing director named". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Retrieved July 25, 2026.
  8. 1 2 "Maui Primary Election Results 2016 – FINAL PRINTOUT". Mauinow. August 13, 2016. Retrieved July 25, 2026.
  9. ↑ "HTA fills 2 more top leadership positions". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. December 11, 2018. p. B3. Retrieved July 25, 2026.
  10. 1 2 "HTA Chief Administrative Officer Keith Regan To Depart Agency". Hawaii Tourism Authority. July 8, 2022. Retrieved July 25, 2026.
  11. ↑ "HTA emails show contracts process concerns". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. December 4, 2022. p. A8. Retrieved July 25, 2026.
  12. ↑ "HTA executive's resignation adds to departures". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. July 9, 2022. p. B2. Retrieved July 25, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Green names 14 directors for state departments". Hawaii Tribune-Herald. December 2, 2022. p. A7. Retrieved July 25, 2026.
  14. ↑ Gomes, Andrew (March 25, 2026). "Green gets 2 confirmations, 2 rejections-1 for 3". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. p. A8. Retrieved July 25, 2026.
  15. ↑ Gomes, Andrew (March 25, 2026). "Green gets 2 confirmations, 2 rejections". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. p. A1. Retrieved July 25, 2026.
  16. 1 2 Brestovansky, Michael (April 23, 2026). "Who is Hawai'i's Acting Lieutenant Governor?". Aloha State Daily. Retrieved July 26, 2026.
  17. ↑ Shikina, Robert (July 30, 2007). "New case of botulism appears on Valley Isle". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved July 25, 2026.
  18. ↑ "2017 Financial Disclosure-Keith Regan-Officerships, Directorships, Trusteeships". Honolulu Civil Beat. February 15, 2017. Retrieved July 25, 2026.
  19. 1 2 "2018 Financial Disclosure-Keith Regan-Officerships, Directorships, Trusteeships". Honolulu Civil Beat. March 5, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2026.
  20. ↑ "2023 Financial Disclosure-Keith Regan-Officerships, Directorships, Trusteeships". Honolulu Civil Beat. January 4, 2023. Retrieved July 25, 2026.
  21. ↑ "2024 Financial Disclosure-Keith Regan-Officerships, Directorships, Trusteeships". Honolulu Civil Beat. May 23, 2024. Retrieved July 25, 2026.