On Politics
Richard Borreca
Lingle lines up
allies at UHThe University of Hawaii Board of Regents, Governor Lingle acknowledges, are the easiest slots to fill in state government.
"Everyone wants to be on the board," she says.
As easy as it is to pass out applications, Lingle has just as easily filled those slots with good friends. Because of the expected vacancies and resignations, Lingle had to fill six of the 11 positions.
Five of her nominees are supporters, while the sixth, law student Trent Kakuda, is an intern with Democratic Sen. Robert Bunda, Senate president.
The most recognizable nominee is one of Lingle's strongest supporters, Kitty Lagareta, chairwoman and CEO of Communications Pacific. She was with Lingle every step of the way when Lingle almost won the race for governor in 1998, and was a constant supporter during the 2000 election (when Lingle was GOP chairwoman) and during the road to victory in the 2002 race. She remains a valuable adviser.
Nominee Shelton Jim On, an attorney and CPA, has raised money, organized troops and supported the Republican Party, according to GOP officials. Nominee Edward Sultan, a businessman, also has supported the GOP. His wife, attorney Rae McCorkle, took leave to direct Lingle's fund-raising operation.
While Byron Bender was not listed as a campaign volunteer, his union, the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly, strongly supported Lingle. Businessman Alvin Tanaka, another supporter, also was nominated.
Regent appointees have not always followed the dictates or wishes of the appointing governor, but in the case of Lingle's nominees it is likely that she is confident that the new regents will represent her thinking.
Democrats have used the board to reward friends and to keep control of the university. Today the situation has changed because of state laws giving UH more autonomy, but the regents still hold the key to university control: They hire and can fire the UH president.
The regents' duties include regular reviews of the president's performance.
When UH president Evan Dobelle taped TV commercials endorsing Lingle's Democratic opponent last year, Lingle failed to find the move merely a vigorous exercise in democracy and instead hung up on Dobelle when he called to explain.
Dobelle has dramatically raised the profile of both UH and himself, but in political circles he has had a weak cheering squad. Last week, when the Legislature convened a joint hearing to look into an auditor's report critical of UH fund raising, Dobelle and the others mentioned in the report skipped the meeting.
One legislative leader who was asked about Dobelle's relations with the Legislature said: "He better move to the history department, because that's what he is going to be -- history."
Dobelle's challenges with the Legislature will have to be played out after he has cleared several other hurdles. First, he has a faculty that he promised to reward with higher pay; and second, the new Board of Regents is dedicated to a boss who is less than impressed with him.
With little state money and a new team calling the shots, Dobelle may be an easy target for next year's Legislature.
Richard Borreca writes on politics every Sunday in the Star-Bulletin.
He can be reached at 525-8630 or by e-mail at rborreca@starbulletin.com.