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The longest-serving speaker in the history of the Hawaii House of Representatives announced Thursday that he is resigning from the chamber’s top post.

House Speaker Calvin Say said he did some “soul searching” after realizing he does not have enough votes to keep the speakership position next legislative session, so he decided to “convey the mantle” to House Finance Chair Marcus Oshiro.

“It is the best time on behalf of the majority caucus, on behalf of the Democratic Party, on behalf of the people of Hawaii that I do step down,” Say said.

State Rep. Joe Souki, who Say unseated as speaker 13 years ago, has formed a 30-member majority coalition of Democrats — including the House’s seven Republicans.

Oshiro said he has Say’s 21 supporters and will spend the next few weeks trying to pluck at least five from Souki’s faction to give him the majority needed to become speaker.

“I’m very humbled by the trust given to me by Speaker Say and members of the House Democratic Caucus,” Oshiro said. “I want to get past this log jam we’re at right now and I believe we can organize among ourselves, the 44 Democrats, without forming a coalition with the seven Republicans.”

Say will continue to serve as speaker, a position he has held since 1999, until a new one is elected on the Legislature’s opening day, Jan. 16. He said he is proud of the work he has done, particularly leading the state through a challenging economic period in recent years.

“There are 30 reasons why they decided not to support Calvin Say, even though he has done a fantastic job,” Say said, referring to the 30 members who are backing Souki. “Yes, people have perceived me as being heavy handed. But at the end of the day, I had to make some tough decisions for the greater good of our caucus.”

Several of Say’s allies lost re-election this year, prompting House Democrats to meet privately at the Capitol the day after the Nov. 6 general election to see if he still had the 26 votes needed to be speaker.

Souki announced last month that he had enough votes to give him back the job that Say took from him. He made a deal with the GOP to give them three vice chair positions, including one on the powerful Finance Committee.

Say said Thursday that he does not want the Democratic Caucus working with the Republican Caucus. He said it is important for the 44 Democrats to be a unified group.

However, Say had a few Republicans lined up two years ago to secure his position as speakership. When asked Thursday how this was different than what Souki is doing, Say said the difference is he ultimately didn’t need those GOP votes because a few Democrats changed course at the last minute.

Rep. Cynthia Thielen, the House assistant minority leader, said in a release Thursday that it is “highly ironic” that members of Say’s faction continue to criticize Souki’s attempts to organize with Republican members.

“Two years ago, two of Speaker Calvin Say’s emissaries directly negotiated with Rep. (Gene) Ward and me to ensure the support of the Republican caucus,” Thielen said. “Those negotiations included specific terms of a deal for our support of Calvin Say in the House organization.”

The organization is important in part because committee chairs can effectively kill bills by not giving them hearings.

If elected speaker, Oshiro said he would continue to give a freshman representative a seat on the Finance Committee. He said he would also be inclined to give sophomore members positions as committee chairs, and make other freshmen vice chairs of committees.

Say underscored Oshiro’s six years as Finance Committee chair and other leadership positions. But he also highlighted Oshiro’s relative youth. Oshiro is 51 years old, Say is 60 and Souki is 79.

Oshiro said he hopes to attract Souki supporters because of three key positions: he won’t support any increase in the General Excise Tax; he vehemently opposes legalizing gambling; and he won’t pursue a tax to help the state’s ailing pension fund.

Souki, the speaker emeritus, is a strong supporter of legalized gambling. He and his supporters have said Say has not advocated for progress, change and reform.