2 file papers for governor's race

Advertiser Staff

Longtime Hawai'i Republican John Carroll filed nomination papers to run for governor Thursday, and urged Republican counterpart Linda Lingle to meet him for a debate.

Libertarian George Peabody, publisher of the Moloka'i Advertiser-News, also filed to run for governor yesterday.

Carroll, a Korean War veteran, served three terms in the state House in the 1970s, and was a state senator from 1978 to 1980. He is a lawyer, a former commercial airline pilot and former chairman of the Hawai'i Republican Party.

Carroll, 72, said he is not concerned by public opinion polls that show him far behind Lingle, adding that he pays little attention to polls.

Although he has little money to fuel his campaign, Carroll predicted he will win the Republican primary with grassroots campaigning and support from groups such as surfers, hunters, veterans, senior citizens and church members.

Peabody, 57, ran for governor as a Libertarian in 1998. He also has run for Maui County Council in the past. He said that although the media paid little attention to his 1998 candidacy for governor, he was able to garner enough votes to affect the general election in which Lingle lost to Democratic Gov. Ben Cayetano. Peabody won 4,398 votes, while Lingle lost by 5,254 votes.

Peabody pledged that if elected, he would "administratively slash the size and costs of government, defend our sovereignty against federal intrusions (and) allow the free market to improve our economy. ..."