Giuliani will speak
at Lingle fund-raiser
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani will be the guest speaker at a $1,000-a-plate fund-raiser for Gov. Linda Lingle March 20 at the J.W. Marriott Ihilani Resort and Spa at Ko Olina.
Lingle, who has been hosted by Giuliani at events in New York, is one of the GOP's top money-raisers. Lingle has been trying to get Giuliani, who was the 2001 Time Man of the Year, to come to Hawaii since 2002.
Miriam Hellreich, spokes-woman for the Lingle re-election campaign, said Giuliani waives his speaking fee for Republican fund-raising appearances. But the outspoken former New York federal prosecutor will be in Hawaii later this month to speak to an undisclosed business group on Kauai, Hellreich said.
"This was the only reasonable way to get him out here because he is so busy," Hellreich said. "It was a stroke of luck."
Giuliani, who has been praised for his leadership role in New York after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, has commanded speaking fees of up to $100,000, according to published reports.
The Lingle campaign is expecting to sell between 500 and 700 tickets for the event, according to Hellreich.
"I have met him several times, he is very down to earth and he gives a very good presentation," Hellreich said.
During Lingle's successful campaign in 2002, Giuliani helped the effort by writing a fund-raising letter for local supporters, besides hosting events for Lingle on the mainland.