Lingle opens house to friends

By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Advertiser Capitol Bureau

The Morreira family of Kula and the Befitels of Kaunakakai have taken turns for more than two decades hosting Linda Lingle for Christmas.

Gov. Linda Lingle enjoys her first Christmas in the new governor's residence behind Washington Place. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

"Usually, I'm going to someone else's house for Christmas," Lingle said. "This is different because this year I'm having people over to the new house."

Having a large house where guests can stay for the holidays is among the more pleasant changes to her personal life that Lingle is getting accustomed to as she settles into her new life as Hawai'i's first live-alone governor since statehood.

Cresencia Befitel was wondering earlier this week if she'd have the opportunity to cook pancit and pork adobo, the governor's favorites, sometime during her stay.

"Long time she never eat that," she said. Befitel's family rented a room to Lingle during the 10 years she lived on Moloka'i.

Catherine Morreira, whose two adult children befriended Lingle some 20 years ago and has jokingly called her "my tallest daughter," said the governor is a fan of her cooking as well, including her corn chowder, barbecue ribs, chicken asparagus casserole and poppyseed cake.

Morreira said she wasn't expecting to cook, because the governor's house comes with a chef, but noted that she has been helping in other areas such as the public open house of Washington Place on Sunday.

Stephanie Aveiro, Morreira's daughter, is an assistant in charge of affairs at Washington Place and the new residence.

Morreira was able to catch a glimpse of the Christmas Day menu, which includes filet mignon and steamed fish.

Cresencia and husband, Felix, will be joined at the residence today by their three children and two grandchildren. Among the children is Nelson Befitel, whom Lingle recently appointed as director of labor and industrial relations.

Similarly, Frank and Catherine Morreira are being joined by Aveiro, other daughter Marylou Green and her husband. Green is Lingle's personal secretary. Morreira said that while Christmas in Honolulu is a nice change, she still prefers the more wintry nights of Upcountry Maui. "Linda really wanted us to be here spending Christmas with her," she said.

Lingle said she expects other friends, particularly from the Neighbor Islands, to visit her and stay overnight at the new house. "I have a lot of friends on the Neighbor Islands," she said.

Despite the demands of office, Lingle is trying to maintain some vestiges of her old life. For instance, she continues to swim 3,000 yards four days a week in a pool at a local YMCA.

But you probably didn't see Lingle in a shopping mall during the holiday season because she is not much for exchanging Christmas gifts. "I don't go in for physical possessions. I just find it burdensome to have a lot of things around," she said.

Instead, she said, "I like to spend time with friends. So I'll do something like buy enough gift certificates so we can go out somewhere. So movie tickets I give because I know we'll all be going out together."

One night last week, she and some friends went to a multiplex and took in the movies "Solaris" and "The Emperor's Club" back-to-back.

Between interviewing potential department heads and meeting with advisers, legislators and others, Lingle has also been finding time to move into the 5,000-square-foot, unfurnished governor's residence. "It has built-in appliances, but no toaster or anything like that, no pots and pans, no kitchen table," Lingle said.

"The foundation (that raised money for the new house) just ran out of money," she said. "I'm sure it wasn't their intention to do that." She added that foundation members have been helping find furniture from other parts of the state apparatus.

Additionally, "we'll find money in the governor's budget somehow to finish it off," she said. "We want it to be a place the people of Hawai'i can be proud of. We'll host a lot of events there as well as at Washington Place."

Lingle had been staying in a condominium with a lease that ran through February, so much of her personal belongings are still there. "Right now, the only thing I've moved over is my computer and my desk," she said.

Former Gov. Ben Cayetano criticized Lingle for firing veteran staff from Washington Place, a move Lingle defended as a cost-cutting measure. "They had five housekeepers; we reduced it to three, because I do my own laundry," Lingle said. The three, she said, will maintain both houses.

Lingle retained Jim Bartels as curator of Washington Place and hired Glenn Shigeta, food and beverage manager for the Sheraton Waikiki, as special events coordinator. Also on site, she said, will be a clerical person for Aveiro and Bartels, plus the chef.

Her cats have the run of the upstairs, which is closed off from the downstairs portion of the home. Lingle laughed and rolled her eyes when describing the relationship between 7-year-old Snooze and 2-month-old Nani Girl, who was found during a campaign stop in Hilo.

Nani Girl "is a little more aggressive than your household cat," Lingle said. "So she's making my other cat's life a little unhappy, a little more active than she'd like."