Remove ImagesThe Exchange
Issue 9.42: Cunning Lingle
What Governor Linda Lingle said in an Apr. 3, 2006 press release on storm damage:
April 13, 2006
"Having personally visited the flood-impacted areas and having seen the devastation, it is clear that any legislation providing flood victims with relief must be available in a fair and comprehensive fashion… We should extend tax credits to all those who have lost property or suffered property damage statewide."
What she didn't say:
Tax relief? Why not just organize a public-private partnership and pay victims that way? Oh yes, I forgot—some state legislators think something might be amiss with the way Lingle's been using public-private partnerships to pay for things like trade missions to China and such. In fact, they just voted last week to get the state auditor to look into those trips and see if getting all those companies to underwrite trip costs without going through the usual bid processes violated state procurement laws. Then again, Lingle's raised less than $1 million through these things, so they probably wouldn't be able to give storm victims that much in relief.
-Anthony Pignataro