Gov. Linda Lingle indicated yesterday she intends to keep communications executive Kitty Lagareta as a holdover on the University of Hawai'i Board of Regents.

Lagareta, a friend and former political adviser to the governor, was rejected by the state Senate on Thursday for another five-year term on the board.

If Lingle chooses to keep Lagareta as a holdover after her term expires at the end of June, the administration argues, Lagareta could stay on the board until the governor nominates and the Senate confirms a replacement or until the close of the 2010 legislative session.

The state law that sets the governor's appointment powers over boards and commissions allows holdovers to remain until successors are appointed but not beyond two legislative sessions.

State senators, however, questioned the administration's interpretation of the law. The fact that Lagareta was nominated for another term and rejected, they argue, should make her ineligible under the state Constitution for an interim appointment after her term expires.

Her presence on the board, if improper, could also raise legal doubts about official board actions.

State Senate Majority Leader Gary Hooser, D-7th (Kaua'i, Ni'ihau), said that even if the governor is correct, keeping Lagareta as a regent would be a mockery of the Senate's advise and consent authority under the state Constitution.

The governor's nominees are subject to Senate confirmation as part of a check on executive power.

"I think it clearly circumvents and ignores the constitutional responsibility and authority of the Senate to advise and consent," Hooser said.

Lagareta said last night that she was not aware of the governor's plans and could not say whether she would stay on the board as a holdover.

"After being accused of bringing down the lab school I'm a little reticent to go back," Lagareta said, referring to a comment by one senator noting she was on the board when the UH Laboratory School burned in 2006.

Lagareta had accused senators Thursday of micromanaging the university and suggested she would not want to remain on the board under such conditions. She also said her friendship with Lingle may have influenced the Senate's vote.

Lagareta is the chief executive officer of Communications Pacific, one of the state's leading public relations firms. Lingle appointed her to the board in 2003 and she has served as board chair and vice-chair during her tenure.

State Sen. Norman Sakamoto, D-15th (Waimalu, Airport, Salt Lake), chairman of the Senate Education Committee, said the Senate's 16-9 vote against Lagareta should preclude her staying on as a holdover.

Sakamoto and other senators said Lagareta was in a leadership role on the board and had some responsibility for recent management and financial problems, including the firing of Evan Dobelle as president, the departures of June Jones as football coach and Herman Frazier as athletic director, and a backlog of repair and maintenance projects at many campuses.

"I think, in essence, we didn't support her continuing on for the next term," Sakamoto said. "I'm not clear what the governor is thinking."

State Senate Minority Leader Fred Hemmings, R-25th (Kailua, Waimanalo, Hawai'i Kai), said Lagareta, by the same reasoning, should have been given credit for some of the university's successes, including improvements to campus accreditation ratings and the climate that led to performance of the Warrior football team.

"From our perspective the opposition to Kitty was unfounded and just without logic and fact," Hemmings said. "For these guys to deny her reappointment is unfair. They're doing the university and the public a disservice for their petty political purposes."

The board is expanding from 12 to 15 regents. One argument the administration is making to keep Lagareta on the board is that vacancies or absences may prevent the board from having a quorum needed for taking action.