By David Shapiro

Councilman-elect Charles Djou told an apocryphal tale at the Republican state convention about Linda Lingle and her chief of staff, Bob Awana, making a camping trip to Moloka'i.

Djou joked that Awana heard rustling in the woods and went looking for Lingle. He and a guide found her face-to-face with a fierce wild boar.

"Do something!" Awana screamed to the guide. "Use your gun!"

The guide replied, "Bob, I'm confident that this boar can handle himself. ... I'm not going to shoot Linda Lingle."

Remember this story when you hear dire predictions about how the big, bad Democratic Legislature is going to gobble up the new Republican governor. Lingle enjoys a commanding political position and can take care of herself. It's the lawmakers who may need rescue if they look to pick a fight.

Lingle's victory, ending 40 years of Democratic monopoly, was a clear mandate for change. Hawai'i voters expect her to deliver on her campaign promises to restore trust in government, improve our schools and revitalize the economy — and will hold her accountable if she fails.

But if unreasonably obstructionist lawmakers contribute to the failure, they'll be held accountable, too. The entire House and half the Senate must face voters again two years before Lingle does.

The new governor threw down the challenge to "my Democrat friends" in her inaugural speech Monday:

"People expect us to work together in the years ahead," she said. "The people will not and should not accept petty bickering or excessive partisanship."

Legislative Democrats sound conciliatory for now. Influential Sen. Colleen Hanabusa, for whom Lingle expresses personal admiration, said she doesn't expect the acrimonious battles that existed between Gov. Ben Cayetano and the Legislature.

"There will be a feeling-out period where I think everyone is going to be careful, but looking at the best interest of the state," she said. "You're going to hear more of that: 'In the best interest of the state.' "

Hanabusa has a point: Republican or not, it would be difficult for Lingle to have a worse relationship with the Legislature than Cayetano's eight-year war of words. As titular head of the Democratic Party, Cayetano couldn't very well impose discipline on recalcitrant Democrats by campaigning against their re-election.

Lingle will be under no such constraints. After her success in electing Republican lawmakers as GOP chairman, imagine what she can do as governor with greatly expanded ability to attract quality candidates and help them raise funds.

Legislators will be easy targets if Hawai'i's economy and school system continue to founder while they block Lingle's reform initiatives with a tired chorus of, "Cannot, cannot, cannot."

Lingle's challenge will be to pick her fights carefully. She must partner with Democrats where she can, set priorities and avoid overloading lawmakers with too many contentious proposals that spread everybody's attention thin.

The new governor will also have to keep GOP lawmakers in line. They spent the last two years cherry-picking opportunities to embarrass Democrats with cheap grandstanding. Now, Republicans share in both responsibility for governing and accountability for results.

A key test of how this will play out is the budget, which is $500 million short of what's needed to balance the state's books and pay for Lingle's proposed tax cuts and policy initiatives.

Lingle and the Democrats approach the budget with fundamentally different perceptions of the problem and philosophies for solving it.

If they can work it out, we could be in for some productive years. If not, get ready for a rancorous ride that leaves voters more frustrated than ever.

David Shapiro can be reached by e-mail at dave@volcanicash.net.