By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Associate Justice Simeon Acoba Jr., right, administered the
oath to Gov. Ben Cayetano yesterday as first lady Vicky
Cayetano held the Bible during the inaugural ceremony
at Iolani Palace grounds.
‘We all need
to work together,’
says Cayetano
In a well-received inaugural
By Richard Borreca
speech, the governor stresses
cooperation and political peace
Star-BulletinGov. Ben Cayetano promises cooperation with political enemies, support for education and business and desire for change in government.
Even Cayetano's failed Republican opponent, Maui Mayor Linda Lingle, said the speech had merit, noting that he was "trying to get our state back on track."
Former Gov. John Waihee, whose administration has been criticized by Cayetano, saw the merit in Cayetano asking for a period of political peace.
"He said what needed to be said," noted Waihee. "It was a very conciliatory speech, and coming out of the strong election, it was what was needed to be done."
Others in the crowd yesterday on the grounds of Iolani Palace wanted the governor to stay the course and not change in his final four years.
By Craig T. Kojima, Star-Bulletin
Helemano Gilman of the Kamehameha Schools
Hawaiian Ensemble got ready to perform
at the inauguration.
For instance, Todd Boulanger said he hopes too many concessions won't be made to Linda Lingle's Republican group."They should realize where their strength was," said Boulanger, a state Department of Health employee.
He said the administration "should maintain the bedrock that made the Democratic Party successful two generations ago," with leadership in health care, environment and the way communities are treated. Those standards "shouldn't be abandoned for a quick dollar," he said.
In his speech and in remarks to reporters afterward, Cayetano stressed that while he is welcoming the "energy and commitment" of those who opposed him in this year's election, he is also looking for those who are sincere in their desire to work together.
"If anyone has a good idea, we are open to it, but they have to be sincere about it," Cayetano said.
"We all need to work together -- that is the lesson of this election, and that is what I want to do," Cayetano said.
Yesterday's speech generally repeated several of the campaign themes that Cayetano stressed while running for re-election.
By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
After the ceremony, Cayetano shook hands with former
opponent Linda Lingle
In education, for example, Cayetano promised to take "big steps" to improve the condition of the schools and help children think critically, improve computer skills and learn a second language.Those goals were first established by Cayetano's Economic Revitalization Task Force last year and were cornerstones for his campaign.
Cayetano didn't flesh out the details in further economic recovery plans, except to say he was interested in attracting new capital to Hawaii.
Kathy Hirayama, whose family runs the Hirayama Brothers electrical contracting company in Hilo, said she thought Cayetano's speech "was fantastic."
She said Cayetano and Hirono got the message during their re-election campaign that they need to boost the economy.
Robert Tomosawa, 73, of Honolulu, a semiretired distributor of health products, said he wants to see more economic progress. "That's the reason why I elected him. He said he's going to do it. We'll see if he does it."
