Educator Kioni Dudley, who made an unsuccessful bid for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor, is blaming two high-ranking state GOP officials for the party's poor electoral showing. Candidate says
GOP leaders
caused lossesState Party Chairwoman Donna Alcantara and Republican National Committeewoman Miriam Hellreich should resign, Dudley insisted, because they unfairly backed Maui Mayor Linda Lingle over former Honolulu Mayor Frank Fasi for the GOP gubernatorial nomination.
Unhappy with his treatment during his unsuccessful primary run, Fasi endorsed Democratic Gov. Ben Cayetano's re-election bid, Dudley said. Fasi's supporters were the key to Cayetano's narrow victory, which had a reverse coattails effect, hurting GOP candidates lower on the ticket, Dudley claimed.
Alcantara said she won't heed Dudley's call to step down. "No way," she said. The vacationing Hellreich could not be reached for comment.
"The Republican Party has never been stronger," Alcantara said. "People are acting as if the election (loss) never happened. The momentum (from this year's election) is carrying over into the year 2000. Nearly 200,000 people voted for change; many Democrats voted for Linda Lingle. Linda will stay in the forefront."
MARUMOTO ON BOARD
State House Minority Leader Barbara Marumoto (R, Waialae Iki) was elected to a two-year term on the executive board of the Women's Network, an affiliate of the National Conference of State Legislatures. Marumoto, the first Hawaii legislator on the Women's Network board, will be a representative of Western states.The Women's Network, a national group of female legislators, seeks to strengthen the participation of women in state legislatures. The network sponsors leadership development seminars.
By Star-Bulletin staff