'We need more Republicans,' governor says
By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Big Island Bureau
For all of their successes, Republican Gov. Linda Lingle and her party loyalists still aren't satisfied with the distribution of political power in Hawai'i, and this weekend they revved up their new drive to seize control of the 51-member state House.
Advertiser library photo
At the Hawai'i Republican Party's state convention at the Hilton Waikoloa Resort on the Big Island, Lingle warned that the party must hold on to its gains, and there is more to be done.
Republican Gov. Linda Lingle's party is rapidly raising money.
Specifically, she pointed to what she said were failures by the Democrats at the Legislature this year to pass school reform, tax reform and ethics reform.
"What's amiss is, we don't have the balance we need, we need more Republicans," Lingle told about 330 delegates and alternates at the convention yesterday.
"The 2004 elections, it's hard to believe, they're only 16 months away. Sixteen months until the primary election 2004. It's time to get serious."
This year's GOP state convention was the first since Lingle was elected governor, pledging to restore trust in government, improve public education and expand the economy.
Convention delegates gathered under a banner "Celebrating a New Beginning," and were plainly delighted to have Lingle serving as the first Republican governor in 40 years. But there appeared to be more planning, training and mobilizing going on than gloating.
House Republicans jogged to the stage of the resort's Kona Ballroom with George Thorogood's "Bad to the Bone" thumping through the speakers, and promptly ripped into the record of House Democrats at the Legislature this year.
"The Democrats gave us incredible gifts. They proposed a resolution in the middle of the war in Iraq to send aloha to Saddam Hussein," said House Minority Leader Galen Fox. "We have their votes, we're going to go out and beat them."
As ammunition for next year's campaigns, Fox cited three tax increase proposals the Democrats floated this year to balance the state budget and finance long-term healthcare. He also criticized "giveaways to accountants, lawyers and big corporations owned in France," a reference to a proposed bailout of DFS that would have reduced the minimum payments that Hawai'i's duty-free operator must make to the state for its airport concession.
Brennon Morioka, elected yesterday to a second term as chairman of the state GOP, said the party focus will be on winning seats in the state House next year, where it is easier to recruit candidates to run. The House districts are smaller, making campaigns more manageable for political newcomers, and House campaigns cost considerably less than political races in the much larger Senate districts.
There are 20 House Democrats in the state Senate, and five Republicans. In the House there are 36 Democrats and 15 Republicans.
The Republican increased their numbers in the state House from 12 to 19 in 2000 when Lingle was party chairwoman, but the number of GOP House seats slipped back to 15 in 2002, when the party focus shifted to Lingle's successful bid to become governor.
Morioka said about 250 people attended seminars Friday that dealt with subjects such as campaigning, fund raising, voter registration lists and media relations. He estimated 15 to 20 were candidates or potential candidates, and the rest plan to take on leadership roles in campaigns or party activities.
The GOP is rapidly raising money, with delegates hearing a treasurer's report yesterday that the state party raised more than $600,000 in the first four months of the year, a sizable sum considering this is not an election year.
Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 935-3916.
