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Issue 9.20: Cunning Lingle
What Governor Linda Lingle said in an Oct. 25, 2005 press conference on the 2006 gubernatorial election:
November 10, 2005
"I want the people to know we expect a great race next year, talking about the issues, about the future of our state."
What she didn't say:
In her successful 2002 race, Lingle ran on all sorts of issues. Like ending then-Governor Ben Cayetano's alleged practice of promoting cronies into powerful state posts. And she did, though she did find the time to appoint her friend and communications director Catherine "Kitty" Lagareta to the University of Hawai'i Board of Regents (she's the current regent chairwoman). She also appointed Kitty's husband Roland to the East-West Corporation's Board of Directors. Oh, and she also made Nelson Bifitel, the son of her former Molokai landlord, Labor Department director.
-Anthony Pignataro