U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie said yesterday that a collapse of leadership in Hawai'i has motivated him to resign from Congress and return in a matter of weeks to campaign full time for governor.

The Hawai'i Democrat, speaking at a news conference at his campaign headquarters at Ward Warehouse, would not give a specific date for his resignation because of the uncertain timing of key votes in Congress.

Abercrombie said he would remain in Congress for expected votes on health care reform, a Native Hawaiian federal recognition bill and other federal legislation important to the Islands.

But Abercrombie, who has served two decades in Congress, said he would likely resign in a matter of weeks, not months.

A special election will be held to fill the remaining months of his two-year term, which ends in January 2011.

"We need to have leadership. There's been a total collapse of leadership in the state," Abercrombie said. "There's a lack of confidence in what's taking place in the state."

The congressman cited the controversy over teacher furloughs at public schools as an example of failed leadership. He has urged the Lingle administration, state House and Senate leaders and the Hawaii State Teachers Association to eliminate furloughs and restore classroom instruction time for students.

Abercrombie also reached out to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who criticized teacher furloughs in Hawai'i and suggested the state may miss out on federal Race to the Top grants as a result.

Talks between the Lingle administration and the teachers' union have been at a stalemate, but are scheduled to resume this week.

"That issue needs to be resolved," Abercrombie said. "You cannot have a situation in which instructional days of children are being lost. They can never be regained."

COMMIT TO RACE NOW

Abercrombie also cited budget cuts at the state Office of Elections — which could influence the timing of a special election and preparations for the primary and general election — as a leadership problem.

"Right now, special elections are a blip on the screen. So far as I'm able to understand, the Office of Elections is unprepared for any election," he said.

Abercrombie's resignation would allow him to focus on his campaign and a likely Democratic primary challenge from Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann.

Hannemann's advisers have said Abercrombie's resignation, and the loss of his seniority in Congress, could leave Hawai'i vulnerable at a time when the state is looking to the federal government for money for a Honolulu rail project and help with other issues.

Asked yesterday about Hannemann's criticism, Abercrombie brushed it off, saying: "The mayor is not a candidate for office, so far as I know, other than dealing with the circumstances of his office to which he's been elected.

"So I suggest if there's issues to be dealt with at the city that the mayor address those."

In his remarks at the news conference, Abercrombie said anyone considering a run for governor next year should commit completely to the campaign now, which appeared to be a challenge to Hannemann, who has been raising money and collecting endorsements but has not formally declared.

But Abercrombie told reporters afterward that he was not urging Hannemann to declare for governor and resign as mayor. The mayor has until the filing deadline next July to formally announce his intentions.

Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona, a Republican candidate for governor, has said he does not plan to resign to campaign.

GOP SLAMS STRATEGY

Other Republicans questioned whether Abercrombie's resignation was simply a tactical move against Hannemann.

"Representative Neil Abercrombie is as wavering with his resignation as he is with his commitment to Hawai'i," Jonah Ka'auwai, the state GOP chairman, said in a statement yesterday. "He made no announcement of a date of resignation and had no real thoughts on the burden the special election to replace him will put on Hawai'i's taxpayers or the dismantled Office of Elections. Can we expect this kind of indecisive leadership from someone who is seeking the highest office of Hawai'i?

"His announcement Friday received tremendous backlash and confusion among Hawai'i voters, who deserve so much more than this typical political nonsense. He claims he's 'all in' with the people of Hawai'i and wants to campaign full time but there's little doubt the good people of Hawai'i will see through him," Ka'auwai said. "Hawai'i is tired of publicity stunts and political shenanigans. Voters want real leadership, real change, and it is clear that many of the politicians in the Democrat Party cannot offer anything but the same things we've seen for the last 50 years."

Amy Agbayani, director of the University of Hawai'i-Mänoa Office of Student Equity, Excellence and Diversity, said that campaigning full time will allow Abercrombie to put the issues facing Hawai'i into context.

"I think we need this focus and for him to be more personal, for people to feel he is accessible," said Agbayani, a volunteer on the congressman's campaign.

Former Congressman Ed Case, state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, and Ho- nolulu City Councilman Charles Djou have said they will run in a special election to fill out Abercrombie's term, and in the primary and general election to replace him in Congress.

The state Office of Elections, citing budget constraints, has raised doubt about whether a special election can be held before the September primary.

State lawmakers, concerned about leaving Hawai'i without full representation in Congress, would likely search for state or federal money to help finance a special election.