Remove ImagesThe Exchange
Issue 9.49: Cunning Lingle
What Governor Linda Lingle said in a May 17, 2006 Honolulu Star-Bulletin story about her approving $40 million to fight homelessness:
June 01, 2006
"We have a 10-year plan to end homelessness. It is well thought out with all the stakeholders. We are not going to start throwing money around—that is not in the plan we all developed."
What she didn't say:
Now halfway through her fourth year as governor, campaigning for reelection, Lingle suddenly decides that she needs to end homelessness. The troubles plaguing the state Housing and Community Development Corporation (HCDCH)—which tries to house poor and homeless people—shows the state doesn't know what to do. It's splitting the agency into two agencies to become more "efficient," yet nine years ago those same two agencies coalesced into the HCDCH for the very same reason. For years the number of homeless people throughout the state has been growing—reversing that trend will require lots of money, sure, but also a lot of attention, which Lingle hasn't been willing to give so far.