ASSOCIATED PRESS Three candidates for Hawaii governor, from left, Republican John Carroll, Democratic Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono and Democratic Rep. Ed Case, awaited questions from the audience yesterday at a gubernatorial forum.

Case hurls gauntlet
over state budget

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By Pat Omandam
pomandam@starbulletin.com

Democratic candidate for governor Ed Case publicly challenged fellow Democrats Mazie Hirono and D.G. "Andy" Anderson on budget issues during a forum in Waikiki yesterday.

It was the first time this election season that any of the three major Democratic candidates for governor has directly questioned the others on campaign positions in a public setting and comes one month before the Sept. 21 primary election.

"Mazie, Andy, what is your solution to balance the state budget?" said Case, who has made the operational cost of state government a major issue in his campaign.

Hirono responded state government already has been downsized through the elimination of unfunded and vacant positions. It has been among the slowest-growing state budgets across the nation, she said.

Case asked the question in front of about 80 people at the forum sponsored by the Community Associations Institute in Waikiki. Anderson did not attend the forum.

Case wanted to know how Hirono would balance the budget without seriously considering raising taxes, laying off state workers or raiding other special funds, particularly the Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund.

Those are the main options to deal with the state budget, and any candidate for governor should not pledge to refrain from these options without first offering an alternative plan to the public, Case said.

With half of the state's $3.6 billion general fund budget devoted to education and higher education, Hirono said any cuts in operations or personnel will affect support for education, which is a key campaign issue for all gubernatorial candidates. She said there can be an effective government without cutting jobs.

As governor, Hirono said she would review each of the hundreds of state special funds to ensure that they are not receiving any excess money that should go into the state general fund.

Hirono then unleashed her own assault on Case, saying the next Hawaii governor will have to work with unions, and anyone who says they will do "this and that" without some agreement with labor is wrong.

Case is at odds with public worker labor unions because of his efforts during his eight years in the state Legislature pushing for government reforms that union leaders say threatened state jobs. Recently, the Hawaii Government Employees Association gave a rare "open" endorsement for governor to both Hirono or Anderson, telling HGEA members Case did not deserve their support.

"I am not a top down, 'my way or the highway' leader," Hirono said, adding she has seen how that kind of leadership in government isn't always effective.

Meanwhile, Republican gubernatorial candidate John Carroll used this Democratic spat as a reason to tell forum attendees why people should vote for the Republican Party. Carroll said he has pledged not to raise taxes as governor, and, as far as layoffs of state workers, he will "surgically eliminate the fat" in state government.

Lingle, who did not attend yesterday's forum, has said she will not lay off any state workers. She said last week her campaign strategy is not to engage the other gubernatorial candidates until after the primary election, although she will appear with them on Sept. 12 at a Waikiki conference on native Hawaiian social issues.