Posted on: Tuesday, October 29, 2002

Voters offered 'change' in two varieties

• 2002 Voter's Guide

By Lynda Arakawa
Advertiser Capitol Bureau

Republican gubernatorial candidate Linda Lingle, left, and Democrat Mazie Hirono met Friday at the KHET studios in their only televised debate. One of them will become Hawai'i's first woman governor after voters cast their ballots Nov. 5. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser . . . The money race Republican Linda Lingle • Raised: $4.17 million • Spent: $4.52 million • Cash on hand*: $116,000 Republican James "Duke" Aiona • Raised: $236,000 • Spent: $206,000 • Cash on hand: $30,000 . . . Democrat Mazie Hirono • Raised: $1.69 million • Spent: $1.64 million • Cash on hand: $82,000 Democrat Matt Matsunaga • Raised: $236,000 • Spent: $235,000 • Cash on hand: $21,000 Figures are for the election period from November 1998 to Oct. 21. * Includes $470,000 left over from 1998 gubernatorial campaign. Source: State Campaign Spending Commission

Throughout this election season, both major candidates for governor have been fighting over ownership of the campaign theme of "change."

Democratic Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono contends that she and her party have already been making positive changes in areas such as the economy and education, and cautions voters against being seduced by "change" for change's sake.

Republican Linda Lingle, a former Maui County mayor, counters that she is the only one who can bring about meaningful change in the state, and that Hawai'i's Democrats are to blame for the state's economic and education problems.

It's unclear whether one message is resonating louder with voters than the other. An Advertiser Hawai'i Poll conducted Oct. 19-23 showed Lingle with a slim lead over Hirono, 44 percent to 40, with a margin of error of 4 percentage points. A poll in June showed Lingle with a 15-point lead, but the number of undecided voters has grown since then.

The election marks only the second time in U.S. history (following a 1986 Nebraska campaign) that two women from major political parties are competing for governor. When the votes are counted Nov. 5, Hawai'i will have its first woman governor.

Lingle has spent nearly three times as much money as Hirono and has built a well-organized and well-funded campaign in the four years since her narrow loss to Gov. Ben Cayetano in 1998. She is quick to remind voters of the string of criminal convictions of Democratic politicians in recent years.

Hirono, meanwhile, is backed by a party with the grassroots resources and track record of helping trailing candidates pull out victories in major races.

Both candidates share strikingly similar proposals to boost the economy, while Lingle's ideas to improve education are more dramatic than Hirono's.

Lingle wants to decentralize Hawai'i's statewide school system by establishing seven, locally elected school boards. Hirono opposes locally elected school boards but favors decision making at the school and local level.

Hirono plans to increase education spending to bring Hawai'i among the top 10 states in per-pupil funding. Lingle proposes to issue debit cards to teachers to allow them to make certain types of purchases within defined spending limits.