Veteran state legislator Sen. Bob Bunda will run for lieutenant governor next year.

Bunda (D, Wahiawa-Kaena-Pupukea) has been in the state Legislature for 28 years, including 15 in the Senate.

From 2001 to 2006, Bunda was Senate president and was the first Filipino-American to serve as president of any U.S. legislative body.

Also running for lieutenant governor in the 2010 Democratic primary are Sens. Norman Sakamoto and Gary Hooser.

Reps. Jon Riki Karamatsu and Lyla Berg have said they are considering a run. And Brian Schatz, Hawaii Democratic Party chairman, has also set up a campaign for lieutenant governor.

In making his announcement this week, Bunda described himself as a “;consensus builder who can be a bridge between the Legislature and the administration.”;

Bunda said he is friends with both U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, who has announced for governor, and Mayor Mufi Hannemann, who has formed an exploratory committee to run for governor in the Democratic primary.