Posted on: Wednesday, December 17, 2003
Lingle supporters fill key stadium positions
By Jim Dooley
Advertiser Staff Writer
Two campaign supporters of Gov. Linda Lingle have been appointed to key positions overseeing operations at Aloha Stadium.
Republican Party official Kevin Chong Kee was appointed as a member of the Aloha Stadium Authority and Kenneth Lum, a retired restaurateur and active Lingle political campaigner, was hired as deputy stadium manager.
As a candidate, Lingle criticized what she described as cronyism in government appointments. Now she finds herself in a similar position to her predecessors, defending the selection of campaign supporters for state positions.
Chong Kee, who is second vice chairman of the Hawai'i Republican Party and owner of Kevin's Electrical Inc., said it's only natural that a governor appoints political supporters to vacant positions in government.
"It's always been done that way," he said. "I don't know why there are so many complaints now."
Chong Kee, whose sister, Celyn, was campaign manager for Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona and now works as an Aiona aide, said he "participated in (Lingle's) campaign" and volunteered to serve in her administration.
He was appointed to the nine-member Stadium Authority last week to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of chairman Edward K. Hamada.
Chong Kee said he is the only Lingle appointee on the board, whose members are unpaid. All the other members were appointed by former Gov. Ben Cayetano, a Democrat.
"It's a very Democratic board," Chong Kee said. "I'm the oddball. I'm there to keep everybody honest."
Lum, 78, was hired as deputy stadium manager, a full-time job that pays $65,000 per year.
"I have a lot of energy, I'm qualified for the job and I want to do something for the people of Hawai'i," Lum said.
Lum said he "campaigned real diligently" for Lingle and after she was elected, "I told her I wanted to work and asked her to keep me in mind. I wanted to help, to do something for the good of the state."
Lum spent his career in the food and beverage industry and is the former owner of two restaurants in the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center. He retired several years ago. In June, Lingle named him as an interim member of the Hawai'i Paroling Authority, later replacing him with a full-time appointee. His job at the stadium began this week.
Lum said his food and beverage expertise as well as his administrative skills are important qualifications for the stadium job. Food and beverage services at the stadium are supplied by a concessionaire, Volume Services Inc., under a 10-year contract signed three years ago.
Lingle spokesman Russell Pang said yesterday the stadium authority, not the governor, selected Lum for the job. Authority chairman Anthony Guerrero, an executive of First Hawaiian Bank, notified the administration of the selection this month, Pang said.
He said he did not know if anyone in the administration recommended Lum for the job. Guerrero said Lum was recommended for the job by stadium staff.
Pang said Lingle "is looking for the best candidates and some of them inevitably fall into the category of those who helped her during the election."
The governor has made about 300 appointments to state boards and commissions and has another 300 or so to go, many of them to fill vacancies that will open at the end of June 2004, Pang said.
