Lingle camp on firmer footing than in '98

The 30-second commercial rolled out Sunday, less than 24 hours after Linda Lingle's overwhelming victory in the Republican gubernatorial primary, and showed her with her new running mate, Duke Aiona, together calling for a "new beginning" for Hawai'i.

Lingle had taped nearly identical TV and radio advertisements with each of the three Republican candidates for lieutenant governor two weeks before. So no matter who won, she would be ready to hit the air waves immediately after the primary with her new running mate.

As campaign tactics go it was hardly original, but it made an impact.

But more than simply being an effective campaign tool, the advance ads are an example of how Lingle's campaign for governor is far different this year than at this point in 1998, when her seemingly unstoppable machine lost traction in the final weeks before the election.

Linda Lingle's campaign has improved over her campaign in 1998. Advertiser library photo

"The last time the focus was so strong on the primary," said Lingle's press secretary, Lloyd Yonenaka. "The focus was to get our voters out because we really had to win that one."

There also wasn't much political mileage to be gained by pairing Lingle with lieutenant governor candidate Stan Koki, a social conservative whose presence on the ticket scared away potential Democratic cross-over voters attracted to Lingle's more moderate politics.

This year, her running mate is James "Duke" Aiona, a retired judge who is an attractive candidate because of his law-and-order background, strong community ties and ethnic roots in Hawai'i.

Beyond the good fortune of landing a solid running mate and escaping a bruising primary this time around, the Lingle campaign itself is as efficient as a bulldozer, with a staff that has learned from the mistakes of 1998. Many of the campaign workers and insiders are holdovers from 1998 and they are clearly committed to avoiding any of the traps that ensnared them four years ago.

Four years ago, Lingle was still working as mayor of Maui and essentially inherited a staff of strangers, including her campaign manager in both races, Bob Awana. For this race, Lingle moved to Makiki and has had nearly four years to organize her campaign staff.

"I had to depend on people I hardly knew," Lingle said. "This time I personally selected almost every single person who works in the campaign. So this is very different."

Lingle also benefited greatly from the lack of a strong primary opponent and the disarray on the Democratic side. Instead of spending the summer sparring with Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris, at one time the Democrats' leading candidate, Lingle got to work on her message in front of friendly crowds after Harris dropped out. The three remaining Democrats — Mazie Hirono, Ed Case and D.G. "Andy" Anderson — were forced to spend their money just to get through the primary.

Lingle put the time to good use, developing an attractive booklet and accompanying media campaign that outlined her agenda and put her on the air more than any of the Democrats.

"Lingle clearly has learned some lessons from '98," said Ira Rohter, a University of Hawai'i associate professor of political science, who is also the co-chairman of the Hawai'i Green Party. "She has become much more focused on how to win a campaign."

And then there is money. In 1998, Lingle committed herself to a campaign spending limit, which hurt her in the final weeks of the campaign when the Democrats spent heavily on commercials and ads. She won't do that again.

So far, Lingle has raised about $3 million to Hirono's $1 million.

But perhaps the most concrete and symbolic change has been the publication of Lingle's plan, put together in a 28-page, 5 1/2-inch-by-8 1/2-inch, glossy booklet called "A New Beginning for Hawai'i."

The campaign has run off 40,000 copies at 24 cents each. It's a bargain, Rohter said, because it shores up one of Lingle's weak spots from the closing weeks of the 1998 campaign, when she was criticized for using slogans instead of specifics.

The details in Lingle's booklet essentially are "fairly standard best practices for municipal governments around the country, good government procedures," Rohter said. "But she did that because people were complaining about how vague she was and she said, 'Well, we'll fill in the blanks.'"

"In '98 the Democrats did a really good job of criticizing me for not having a plan and the media went along with that," Lingle said. "It's so easy to say something like that. Even though Cayetano had no substance in his plan, it was in a formal, printed book. ... We looked at the things we did last time and asked, 'How can we make adjustments to overcome that weakness?'"

Jon Goldberg-Hiller, another UH associate professor of political science, calls it a shrewd step.

"It's a good thing for a challenger to do," he said. "She's made a move. And now the Democrats have to make a counter move."

Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8085.