GOP insiders named to posts
By Lynda Arakawa and Gordon Y.K. Pang
Advertiser Capitol Bureau
Gov. Linda Lingle yesterday appointed 22 people to various boards and commissions, including many with strong ties to the Republican Party of Hawai'i and to her 2002 gubernatorial campaign.
Among her appointments are three couples with ties to her campaign.
Lingle has made appointments in the past, but yesterday was the largest number for positions on powerful panels ranging from the University of Hawai'i's Board of Regents to the Judicial Selection Commission.
Lingle's appointments to the University of Hawai'i Board of Regents are Byron W. Bender, Shelton G.W. Jim On, Catherine "Kitty" Lagareta, Edward D. Sultan, Alvin Tanaka and Trent Kakuda.
Bender is a professor emeritus of linguistics at the University of Hawai'i and former president of the University of Hawai'i Professional Assembly, which endorsed Lingle. Jim On was the attorney for Lingle's campaign and Lagareta was Lingle's political adviser.
Sultan, president of the Sultan Co., is the husband of Lingle's campaign finance director Rae McCorkle. Lingle also appointed McCorkle, an insurance attorney, to the Land Use Commission.
Of the other nominees to the UH board, Tanaka is president and manger of Pacific Transfer LLC and Kakuda is a juris doctorate candidate at the UH William S. Richardson School of Law.
The governor also appointed Joelle Kane to the board of directors of the Research Corporation of the University of Hawai'i. Kane, an attorney, is married to Department of Hawaiian Home Lands Director Micah Kane, former chairman of the Hawai'i GOP.
The administration, in a release, said response has been good to its call for residents to apply for state panels. "In many cases, some very qualified candidates were brought to our attention from recommendations made by people in the community or Cabinet search selection committees," Lingle said. "The individuals we have selected have outstanding qualifications and they are truly committed to serving the public."
Among other appointments that need Senate confirmation are to the:
- Aloha Tower Development Corp. — Sidney A. Quintal, president of Sun Industries.
- Hawaiian Homes Commission — Colin Kaalele, a manager with Delta Construction Co.; Cindi "Mahina" Martin, a self-employed program development consultant from Maui and a 2002 GOP candidate for state representative; and Trish Morikawa, a deputy city prosecutor.
- Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawai'i Authority Board of Directors — Carl L. Simons, president of Hawaiian Cement.
- Hawai'i Tourism Authority — Kiyoko Y. Kimura, general manager of Diamond Resorts on Maui.
Some of Lingle's nominees do not require confirmation. They include nominations to the East-West Center Corporation's Board of Directors: Eddie Flores, Miriam Hellreich, Roland Lagareta and Puongpun Sananikone. Flores, the president and co-founder of the
L & L Drive-Inn chain, urged the Filipino community to vote for Lingle last year. Hellreich has served as the Hawai'i GOP's national committeewoman, and Lagareta is the husband of Kitty Lagareta. Sananikone is a businessman and an alumnus of the East-West Center.
Lingle also appointed Miriam Hellreich's husband, Dr. Philip Hellreich, to the Judicial Selection Committee. Hellreich led Lingle's selection committee for the state Department of Health director last year.
Lingle's appointees to the Council on Revenues are University of Hawai'i economics professor Carl S. Bonham, state economist Pearl Imada Iboshi and UH business economics professor Jack P. Suyderhoud.
The administration said additional appointments will be announced by the governor's office over the next few weeks.
Reach Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com or Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com. Or reach both at 525-8070.
