Booklet honors efforts
of state workers

Melanie Yoshida, Karen Kaneko and Jacqueline Choy at the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs organized a "Support Our Troops" campaign.

Paul Chung with the Transportation Department oversaw the building of a bypass around Paia Town on Maui.

Tracie Young at the Department of Business Economic Development and Tourism managed a national media campaign to publicize the Grammy Awards' new Hawaiian musical category.

Those are just some of the 313 state workers and appointees honored in a special 55-page booklet published last week by Gov. Linda Lingle.

The state paid $9,500 to produce and print the booklet entitled "1,000 Shining Stars Celebrating the 1,000th Day of the Administration," according to Lenny Klompus, Lingle's senior communications adviser.

Democrats, who declined to speak on the record, acknowledged that the booklet would help Lingle in her re-election campaign next year.

Randy Perreira, deputy executive director of the Hawaii Government Employees Association, called the booklet "political and self-serving."

The state workers, Perreira said, were being used by Lingle to publicize her own administration.

"It was good to see the governor recognize the accomplishments of the civil service, but it was done in a political way," Perreira said.

"A lot of these people have been working for the past two or three governors, and she is trying to take credit for 1,000 days," Perreira said. "The governor is clearly trying to draw a distinction in between what our civil servants did 10 years ago and what they did in the last 1,000 days. It is very self-serving."

The workers also were honored Aug. 29 at a Chamber of Commerce breakfast at the Ala Moana Hotel. After listening to a speech by Lingle about her hopes for the next year, the state workers were all given the books, which included a handwritten "thank you" from the governor.

"I was really surprised," said Susan Shaner, state archivist, who was honored for promoting access to the archives. "The comptroller (Russ Saito) invited us to breakfast, but he was mum about why."

According to the booklet, Shaner "was also a key working committee member and drafter of the recently enacted law governing the use of electronic records as official documents."

"They published the whole thing. My goodness, it was amazing," Shaner said.

Klompus said: "The governor visits state workers, going floor to floor in the buildings, and she always comes back engaged and excited in what they are doing.

"The people themselves feel they are part of something and they are helping to make something and are creating the initiatives that the governor wants to do," Klompus said.

Nominations for official recognition came in from department directors and deputies, Klompus noted. The program was part of the state's employee recognition program sponsored by the Human Resources Department.

Klompus said Lingle decided to expand the program this year.

"She took a lot of time with it because it is an important project for her. She likes recognizing employees. She did it a lot as mayor and is continuing as governor," Klompus added.

Later, Lingle plans to send letters to more than 20,000 state employees thanking them for the work they have done.

Some newly recognized employees like Karen Tom, labor relations manager with the Human Resources Department, said it helps with office morale.

"I think civil service employees sometimes don't feel appreciated. I worked in private business for many years, and I have heard the jokes," Tom said.

"But I work with people who are very dedicated and will do their darnedest to get things done. They do their best, so little things like this help morale."

Klompus noted that the recognition was completely bipartisan, and many key political operatives of former Democratic governors were mentioned.

For instance, Sam Callejo, University of Hawaii vice president, who was former Gov. Ben Cayetano's chief of staff, was mentioned, as was Kate Stanley, an Education Department consultant who worked in the unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign of former Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono.

"This wasn't done along party lines," Klompus said. "It is not about that."

www.hawaii.gov/gov