State Rep. Mele Carroll abruptly announced Tuesday, the day before the opening of the 2015 legislative session, she will resign from the House of Representatives due to health reasons.
Carroll (D, Molokai-Lanai-Paia-Hana), who has breast cancer, said she made the decision after consulting with doctors and her husband. The resignation is effective Feb. 1.
The House, in a news release, said, "Complications from her previous cancer treatments have arisen in the recent months that now affect her quality of life and which may affect her ability to do her job. The time has come for her to address her health and spend quality time with her loved ones and closest friends."
In the same release, Carroll called her decision to resign "the hardest thing I have ever had to do" but "a heartbreaking reality that I have to face."
She thanked House Speaker Joe Souki, former House Speaker Calvin Say, her colleagues and her constituents.
Carroll was instrumental in helping to secure funding for a new emergency medical helicopter service for Maui County.
Gov. David Ige now has 60 calendar days to name a replacement from a list of three candidates to be submitted by the Democratic Party of Hawaii.
Carroll had served as chairwoman of the House Committee on Human Services, a position she stepped down from less than two weeks ago.
She is a member of the Health and Housing committees. She has also served as head of the Legislative Hawaiian Caucus and was a member of the Women’s Legislative Caucus, the Keiki Caucus and the Kupuna Caucus.
Carroll first entered the House in February 2005 when then-Gov. Linda Lingle appointed her to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of former Rep. Sol Kahoohalahala.
Before that she was chief legislative liaison to Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa. She first won election in 2006. She was re-elected to her fifth full two-year term this past November.
