Cayetano, Lingle
make debate personal
They challenge ethics and
By Richard Borreca
the use of family but fail to
ease fears for the economy
Star-BulletinObservers complained that gubernatorial candidates Ben Cayetano and Linda Lingle tackled few new topics in the first statewide televised debate of the general election.
"Cayetano repeated his life's story, whereas Lingle said it's all about the people, the future, inclusion, energy, fairness and courage: generalities," said Bob Biggs, a Leeward Community College political science instructor. "If you went in as a supporter of Cayetano, he won. If you like Lingle, she won."
Former IBEW labor leader George Waialeale said neither candidate answered the questions.
"Many people are concerned about the economy and what it will do for jobs in the state," he said.
"Gov. Cayetano's answer seemed to be weak. . . . Mayor Lingle seemed to have some plan which has not been identified," Waialeale said.
Cayetano and Lingle wanted to fight about the economy, but family matters got in the way during the debate broadcast live on KITV-TV.
Gov. Cayetano, the Democratic candidate, and Maui Mayor Lingle, the Republican, saw a state economy either on the verge of takeoff or in ruins last night.
"Today we are doing more with less," Cayetano said, explaining how cutting 3,000 jobs has helped the state economy.
But Lingle shot back that Cayetano's own budget director earlier this year predicted a $300 million deficit. Since then, the actual budget has come in as a $154 million surplus.
"To call what we have right now a surplus is not really telling the truth," Lingle said, noting that millions in extra charges haven't been included.
The issue of family and ethics made the debate personal.Cayetano has been a constant critic of Lingle for her 1994 hiring of her then-husband to defend her with county money in a wrongful-termination lawsuit.
Lingle said she hired William Crockett because he was recommended as one of the only lawyers on Maui with the needed legal experience, but added that she shouldn't have hired him.
"If I had it to do again, I would not have hired my husband at that time. As a public servant, it is just not enough to act only in the public interest; you do have to avoid even the appearance of favoritism and cronyism. These are very important issues to me," Lingle said.
"This was a minor amount of money, but it was the appearance that was a problem and people were concerned about," she said.
Speaking of family matters, Lingle told the television audience she was disturbed by Cayetano's broadcast ads stressing his own family. Lingle has been divorced twice, while Cayetano has been divorced once and has remarried. Lingle has no children. Early in the campaign, she had to answer questions about her own sexual orientation.
Lingle said Cayetano's ad insulted her family.
"It is the exact kind of negative personal attack that people in this state are tired of," she said."I have a family just like you do, I have parents and a brother and sister and cousins and an uncle here, a lot of family in this state, and they were really offended by that commercial.
"I think it is beneath the dignity of a governor to run something like that, to attach your name to that kind of an attack," she said.
Cayetano defended the commercial, noting that "it is important that I have the experience of having to raise a family, to make sure the children get a good education, making sure they are properly fed and raised. It is important."
The political party's leaders saw the debate along party lines.
"The economy is a problem; it is not an issue," Walter Heen, Democratic chairman said. "Both sides have their ideas. I don't see that her resolutions have any more chance of success than his."
But he added that he was impressed with Cayetano's support for new high-technology industries in Hawaii.
Donna Alcantara, the GOP chairman, said she's worried about the state's long-term debt, saying she didn't think Cayetano gave a straight answer to questions about the economy.
Heen said the same about Lingle and dubbed her "the artful dodger."
The Rev. Frank Chong, executive director of the Waikiki Health Center and a Cayetano supporter, said Lingle showed stronger presentation and charisma, and Cayetano had "a much better grasp of statewide issues and the complexity of running a state government."
"I still see Linda out in front, with Ben coming up fast," he said.
The issue of who is the better communicator was important to Linda Ryan, the former head of First Night Honolulu, who said Cayetano was outpaced by Lingle. "The man is a dreary dolt. She is articulate," she said.
"Here's to a breath of fresh air, else we'll sink further into economic quagmire and 'machine' opportunism," Ryan said. "I predict a Lingle victory."
Man billed for
Lingle donation
by mistakeVolunteer says charge
Star-Bulletin staff
was made because of
credit card mix-upWhen Ralph Reyez received his credit card bill, he was puzzled by a charge dated Sept. 8. It was $105 for the gubernatorial campaign of Republican nominee Linda Lingle. "Why me? I don't even like the lady," said Reyez, who voted for Democrat Ben Cayetano four years ago but hasn't yet decided if he'll vote for the incumbent this year.
What happened was an honest mistake, said Kathi Thomason, an accountant who volunteers as the coordinator of Lingle's campaign office in Honolulu. There was a fund-raising luncheon for Lingle on Sept. 8, and somehow a volunteer transposed two numbers on the credit card of a person attending the fund-raiser, she said.
"I feel very bad," said Thomason, who wrote a letter of apology to Reyez, who manages a Diamond Head mansion.
Reyez admitted he was still simmering even after Thomason apologized on behalf of the Lingle campaign. What made his situation even more troublesome was that the charge was on his company credit card, which means he has to do some explaining to his supervisors.
"It was a fluke," Thomason stressed. "It definitely wasn't supposed to happen."
