Hawaii governor stands alone as GOP star

HONOLULU --Gov. Linda Lingle is a Republican in a mostly Democratic state, someone who reaches across party lines, dodges attacks from Democrats and talks about ending homelessness and cutting taxes in the same breath.

In Lingle, Republicans have found a model candidate. The problem? There's only one of her.

Lingle, 53, is favored to win re-election in November, with only little-known Democrats opposing her after Tuesday's filing deadline. But despite her popularity, Lingle's efforts to expand her party beyond the governor's office haven't gotten other Republicans elected.

Democrats still control all of Hawaii's four congressional seats and 80 percent of both houses of the state Legislature. Republicans lost seats in the 2004 legislative races.

Lingle is unique. Twice divorced and single, she's a pro-choice, pro-environment, pro-business moderate -- a Republican Party celebrity in Hawaii and the state's first woman governor.

"I'm glad that people can't easily categorize me," the governor said. "Because if it's too easy to categorize a person, it means you don't think anything through, you simply have a lineup of philosophies."

The main Democrats opposing her in this year's race, former state lawmaker Randy Iwase and community advocate William Aila, claim that Lingle's popularity comes from a slick public relations campaign rather than her achievements, and that that's why other Republicans in the state haven't been able to ride her success.

"There hasn't been any Republican follow-up because people don't agree with those ideas and policies," said Aila. "She reached out to Democrats who were frustrated with the lack of consensus, the lack of a unified vision for all of Hawaii."

Lingle says her political leanings were formed as a reaction to what she considered Democratic complacency when she worked for the Hawaii Teamsters Union and as the founder of The Molokai Free Press newspaper in the 1970s.

"I thought things were really corrupt. I thought people weren't getting fair treatment," she said. "Everyone in power pretty much were Democrats. I didn't feel comfortable that I could become one of them."

She was a political minority during her time on the Maui County council and later as Maui's mayor. When elected to the governor's office with a 52 percent majority in 2002, she became the state's first Republican to be elected to the governor's office since statehood in 1959.

Since then, she has been touted as an ideal candidate by national party leaders. It doesn't hurt that the state economy is booming, the unemployment rate has been the lowest in the country and the state budget had a surplus of more than $500 million before this year's Legislative session.

One of the reasons for her success is that she's not an extreme right-winger, said University of Hawaii political science professor Ira Rohter.

"She could be a Democrat and you wouldn't know. She's really unconventional," Rohter said. "She represents more of an alternative to the Democratic Party. They're trying to satisfy so many interest groups where they can't find a center of gravity."

While Lingle's opponents question her effectiveness, they avoid assaulting her character. Democrats criticize her smooth public image, hefty campaign war chest and close ties to President Bush. She traveled with him to Iraq and helped campaign for his 2004 re-election in Nevada, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maine and Colorado. Bush lost Hawaii despite her efforts.

House Majority Leader Rep. Marcus Oshiro said Lingle hasn't delivered on her "New Beginning" campaign message, and that the $6 million she's expects to raise for the November elections will only buy her attractive advertisements without helping the public.

"A lot of it is form and not substance. It's sound bites and flashy graphics," Oshiro said. "People realize they were sold a false bill of goods. If you look at her record of accomplishments, there is very little."

At this year's state Republican convention, Lingle gave a reserved speech, emphasizing the need for Hawaii to become a two-party state by electing more Republicans.

When she finished her talk, however, she stood alone as the star of the party as balloons fell and supporters chanted "Four more years."

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On the Net:

Linda Lingle: http://www.hawaii.gov/gov