Lingle and Saito pledged to make good on a campaign promise to revamp the state's nonbid contract procurement process to make it more fair, open and devoid of political cronyism.

Also yesterday, Lingle announced that Brig. Gen. Robert G.F. Lee has received her nod to lead the state's Department of Defense as her adjutant general.

Lingle's nominations of Saito and Lee are pending confirmation by the state Senate. In their positions, each will earn $85,302 a year.

The governor has now chosen 10 of 16 department heads. Lingle said while she expects to announce several more appointments next week, she may not be able to meet her original goal to have a full Cabinet on board by Jan. 1.

Saito, 59, recently retired after a 34-year career with GTE/Verizon. An engineer, he has more than 25 years as a manager and director in telecommunications engineering, planning, operations and product development as well as other areas.

Most recently, from July 1996 to April 2002, he was acting director and manager responsible for the national Technology and Marketing Center in Hawai'i.

The governor said that DAGS would "rid the system of political favoritism" under Saito's leadership.

Saito said he will meet with professionals to talk about ways to improve the nonbid contract process.

"We're going to listen a lot," he said. "We're going to bring people in who are involved in the process. We're going to listen to their ideas and see how we can change the process to make it fair to everyone involved."

Saito said he has no experience in state or local government, to which Lingle promptly added: "And we think it's a big plus."

Lingle said Saito was one of three people recommended by a search committee convened to review 187 applications for a chief to head DAGS. She said Saito stood out because of his "quiet but effective style of managing large organizations."

DAGS oversees eight divisions: accounting, audit, information and communication service, Hawai'i State Archives, automotive management, central services, public works and land survey. It also oversees the state Foundation on Culture and the Arts, the state Procurement Office, the Stadium Authority and the King Kamehameha Day Celebration Commission.

Appointed to be Saito's deputy was Katherine H. Thomason, co-owner and partner of IMS Inc., a Kailua-based accounting and tax firm. She also has been controller for OmniTrakGroup and Kualoa Ranch, accounting supervisor for Network Management Inc. in Fairfax, Va., and an accountant for MCI in Washington, D.C.

Lingle said Thomason has helped in both of her gubernatorial campaigns.

Lee, 54, will be director of state Civil Defense and head the Hawai'i National Guard. In his current capacity, he is responsible for the Army Reserves in Hawai'i, Alaska, Guam, Saipan, American Samoa, Japan and South Korea.

Lee said Hawai'i leads the nation in developing homeland security procedures, adding that one of his priorities is to secure the state's share of federal homeland defense resources.

He previously was chief of staff for the 9th Army Reserve Command. Among other military posts, from 1988 to 1991 he served as commanding officer of the storied 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry.

Lee, in a private capacity, has been Pacific area general manager for Perot Systems Government Services, formerly ADI Technology. He is a licensed engineer in the mechanical and nuclear fields.

The deputy adjutant general, who will serve as commander of the Army National Guard, is Gary M. Ishikawa, who currently serves as principal executive in charge of operations for the Honolulu Board of Water Supply. He was deputy director for the Maui County Department of Water.

Ishikawa was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army, and recently retired as a colonel with the Army Reserves, where he had a 30-year career.