By Ilima Loomis
WAILUKU – Former Gov. Linda Lingle said Tuesday that she would work with members of both parties if elected to the U.S. Senate, but also said Hawaii would benefit from having a Republican in its congressional delegation.
Lingle said her relationships with Republican leaders would help the state continue to be heard in Washington, no matter which party is in power.
“The majority in the U.S. Senate goes back and forth. Sometimes the Republicans are in the majority, and sometimes the Democrats,” she said. “We need to have a foot in both camps. It’s not in Hawaii’s interest to have a delegation that’s all of one party.”
Lingle was on Maui on Tuesday for the local announcement of her endorsement by the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers, support she said “means a lot” to her campaign.
Lingle pointed to her support of the Maui Police Department during her two terms as mayor, which included the department’s transition to becoming the first nationally accredited police department in the state.
“We want to make sure our officers always have the resources they need to do a great job,” she said.
Maui police Detective Michael Bates, chairman of SHOPO’s Maui Chapter, said that Lingle had “always advocated for law enforcement and public safety.”
“In the U.S. Senate, I believe she’ll be able to support federal legislation to get them to help and assist us to fight crime,” he said. “Also I believe she’ll be able to help us protect our health benefits and our pension benefits in these hard economic times.”
If elected, Lingle said she would focus on issues like Social Security and Medicare.
“These issues are being faced by Americans whether they’re police officers or not,” she said.
She said her job would be to “protect” benefits for seniors and workers nearing retirement age.
“At the same time, we’re going to have to make changes to the system, for young people,” she said. “If we don’t make these changes, then it’s not going to be there for them when they retire.”
The former governor stressed what she called a “definable track record” of bipartisanship, and said she would work across the aisle if elected to the Senate.
“I’m comfortable doing that because I’ve had to, being a Republican in a state that’s so heavily Democrat,” she said.
In addition to her local record, Lingle pointed to her efforts as governor reaching out to Republicans in Congress to gain their support for the Akaka Bill, which would have provided federal recognition of Native Hawaiians.
“Not everyone in the Republican Party felt the same way, but I was able to get Republicans to actually be co-sponsors,” she said. “If I was elected, I would be able to get support, certainly for the Akaka Bill, which without Republican support I don’t think has a chance to pass.”
She also said she did not expect to have difficulty working with President Barack Obama, even though she campaigned against him in 2008, when she was supporting the Republican ticket of John McCain and Sarah Palin.
“I think the president is like me, and that is, if it’s good for the people, he’s for it, and if it’s good for the people, I’m for it,” she said.
She said she agreed with Obama on issues including energy policies and support for charter schools, but disagreed with him on other issues.
“If he’s going to talk about cutting the military and it’s going to affect Pacific Command, then I’m going to have to take a position against that, because it’s not in Hawaii’s interest,” she said, noting the Pacific region faces security challenges including instability in North Korea and tension between China and Taiwan.
“It doesn’t matter who the president is. To me that’s a separate issue,” she said. “And if a Republican gets elected, if they’re doing something that’s not in Hawaii’s interest, then I’m not going to be able to support them on that.”
Looking at some of her administration’s more controversial actions, which have re-emerged as statewide issues in the past weeks, Lingle said she didn’t have second thoughts about her decision to veto a civil unions bill in the final months of her governorship.
A subsequent bill allowing civil unions, which was passed by the Legislature in 2011 and signed by Democratic Gov. Neil Abercrombie, took effect Jan. 1.
Lingle said she had told legislators during her administration that she would support civil unions as “something less than marriage,” but that when the bill granted couples the same rights as marriage, she judged that it should be sent to voters for a referendum.
She noted that Hawaii voters previously voted “overwhelmingly” in 1998 against amending the state’s constitution to allow same-sex marriage.
“My opinion hasn’t changed,” she said. “I said at the time that I support reciprocal benefits. I certainly respect all people. But I wasn’t willing to be the one person who would make a decision on something that the public had already voted against in such an overwhelming number.”
And as the state Legislature considers a proposal by Democratic Rep. Joe Souki to restart discussions of an interisland ferry system, Lingle said she continues to believe the Hawaii Superferry was “a very important project that should have been allowed to survive.”
She said her support of the Superferry showed her ability to be bipartisan, noting she worked with state House and Senate leaders to draft legislation and hold a special session of the Legislature in an effort to keep the service afloat.
“It was only when the Supreme Court really overstepped its bounds and created a new law that never existed before that really caused the destruction of this opportunity for the people,” she said.
But she said she did not expect to play a role in attempting to restart a ferry system if elected to the U.S. Senate.
“It’s not realistic at this time,” she said. “We have over a $15 trillion debt in this country, and they know the court here has made this decision. I don’t see any government funding available. Obviously, I think it’s a great idea to have a ferry system in the islands, but I think it’s truly a missed opportunity.”
