DEAN SENSUI / DSENSUI@STARBULLETIN.COM Linda Lingle gave a speech yesterday at the state Capitol, flanked by supporters, after signing the papers that made her an official candidate for Hawaii governor.

Lingle officially
joins race for
Hawaii governorship

The GOP candidate comes out
swinging at a Capitol ceremony

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By Richard Borreca
rborreca@starbulletin.com

Linda Lingle, the former mayor of Maui who came within 5,000 votes of beating Gov. Ben Cayetano four years ago, officially became a candidate for governor yesterday.

In a carefully prepared ceremony at the state Capitol yesterday, Lingle signed her nomination papers. The event was videotaped by her own production crew and featured about 200 supporters who ran the ethnic gamut of Hawaii's population, from a Korean dance ensemble to Samoan chiefs.

"We're going to bring the spirit of hope and opportunity from one end of this state to the other," Republican Lingle said.

In contrast to her previous campaign, in which Cayetano said she was vague on the issues, Lingle yesterday ticked off a series of specific ways she would change government if elected.

"I will spend the next five months talking about what this state will look like if we have the change we need," Lingle said.

Education and the economy are the two big issues of this campaign, Lingle said. She recommends a new law to require that a specific percentage of state money for education go directly to the classroom, and also expanding the choices for parents of school-age children.

"I want to make certain we get local school boards on the ballot, because without it, I don't think our schools can improve," she said, noting that she wants to divide the one statewide board into at least five boards.

"I would like to encourage as many charter schools as possible and support home schools a lot more," she added.

Lingle was critical of the three major consumer-related bills passed in the last legislative session, saying capping gasoline prices, controlling health insurance prices and requiring charges to recycle beverage containers would hurt more than they help.

The bill to cap gas prices, which would not kick in for two years, will result in less gas being available, Lingle said.

"Prices will go up, supplies will be cut and there will be long gas lines and then the price of gas will really climb," Lingle said.

Regulating the price of health insurance would cause the same problems, she warned.

"It is a political move to make people try to feel better," she said. "It is really a bad idea that will drive up the cost of health care and force doctors to leave the state."

Lingle said that instead of the bottle bill, she supports a curbside recycling law, but added that unless the state can develop markets for goods made from recycled glass and plastic, it doesn't do any good to "just separate your garbage."

Lingle is the fourth to file for governor. Already running are state Rep. Ed Case and Arturo Reyes, Democrats, and Jonathan Adler of the Natural Law Party.

Also expected to run are Republican-turned-Democrat D.G. "Andy" Anderson and Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris, also a Democrat, and Republican John Carroll, former GOP chairman and state legislator.