Former Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie has opened an office in Honolulu's Chinatown to run his new consulting business, which deals with helping people or companies with difficulties they may have with federal regulations, the former governor told PBN Thursday.
Abercrombie, 76, said that he has recently started Pacific Strategies LLC, which is a solo practice, although he has some people helping him out.
"I'm in Chinatown [and] I'm loving it down here," he told PBN in an exclusive phone interview Thursday. "I've barely got some furniture [and] can't seem to find anyone who didn't vote for me [over here]."
Abercrombie, who did not win the Democratic party nomination to run for a second term, was recently in Washington D.C., doing some consulting work.
"Anything that I can do to be helpful," he said. "I've got a lot of friends in D.C. and here."
Abercrombie declined to specify who he is helping out and in exactly what way just yet.
"If I could help people here in Washington, I'm going to do that," he said. "I've been contacted by some people to help [them out]."
Abercrombie stressed that his new job does not include any lobbying, and that he is just giving advice and getting the right information for his clients.
"I just have a fee and I do what I need to do," he said. "I tell people what I do and how I can be of service to them."
When asked, Abercrombie said that he plans on staying in Hawaii and continuing to do consulting work.
"I have some folks I am working with and we work together on a schedule and under circumstances," he said.
Abercrombie who spent 20 years in Congress before being elected governor in 2010, was defeated in the August Democratic primary by then-state Sen. David Ige by more than 35 percentage points.