Gov.-elect Linda Lingle used an appearance on national television to say why she believed a heavily Democratic state like Hawaii elected a pro-business Republican even as major scandals rocked the corporate world. Lingle zings local Democrats
on national TV
By Crystal Kua
ckua@starbulletin.com"There are a couple of things going on unique to Hawaii," Lingle said. "One was, we had a lot of elected Democrats going to jail for public corruption, so that was really an offset to what was happening in Washington and New York."
Lingle and Minnesota Gov.-elect Tim Pawlenty, also a Republican, were guests on CNBC's "Capital Report" last night as part of a segment on newly elected governors.
"But also, the public identified the economy as the No. 1 issue that they were concerned about, and, as Tim said, it means they wanted the person who was going to be able to create new jobs, higher-paying jobs, and they trusted a Republican to do that," said Lingle, who appeared via satellite from the Republican Governors Association Conference in Dana Point, Calif.
Lingle, answering a question from co-host Tyler Mathisen about Hawaii's post-9/11 economy, said the tourism industry was hit hard, but she highlighted what the economic future bodes for the state.
"Going forward, though, we're going to have to focus on diversifying away from tourism while making sure that the visitor industry is strong," Lingle said. "We need other kinds of jobs, and so our focus is in technology and health care and in the film industry."
Meanwhile, Lingle's transition team announced yesterday the formation of a nonprofit organization to oversee and raise money for events surrounding Lingle's Dec. 2 inauguration.
The 2002 Hawaii Inauguration Committee hopes to raise $350,000.
