Linda Lingle
Encyclopedia
Linda Lingle was the sixth Governor
of Hawaii
. Lingle holds a number of distinctions: first Republican
elected governor of Hawaii
since the departure of William F. Quinn
in 1962, first county mayor
elected governor of Hawaii, first female governor of Hawaii, first Jewish
governor of Hawaii; the first governor of Hawaii not to have any children; she has been married and divorced twice. During the 2004 Republican National Convention
in New York City
, Lingle served as chairwoman of the convention during the absence of permanent chairman Dennis Hastert
from the convention floor. Prior to her gubernatorial administration, Lingle served as Maui County
mayor, councilmember, and chair of the Hawaii Republican Party.
Lingle announced her candidacy for the United States Senate
in October 2011 for the open seat vacated by retiring U.S. Senator Daniel Akaka
.
, in 1953, Lingle moved with her family to Southern California
when she was 12. She graduated from Birmingham High School
in Lake Balboa, California (at that time, part of Van Nuys), then received her bachelor's degree in journalism cum laude from California State University, Northridge
, in 1975.
Soon after that, she followed her father to Hawaii, working first in Honolulu as a public information officer for the Teamsters
and Hotel Workers Union. Later, she moved to Molokai
, where she started the Molokai Free Press, a community newspaper
.
as mayor of Maui County
, Lingle decided to challenge former Maui mayor and Hawai'i State Speaker of the House of Representatives Elmer Cravalho for the seat. Despite polls showing Lingle trailing far behind her Democratic
opponent, Lingle proved victorious. The Honolulu Advertiser
and Honolulu Star-Bulletin
newspapers declared the election one of the biggest upsets in Hawai'i political history. She became the youngest person elected to the office of Maui County Mayor, at the age of 37, as well as the first woman. She was sworn into office as Mayor of Maui on January 2, 1991. In 1994, Lingle easily won re-election.
Under Lingle's leadership, Maui County implemented performance-based budgeting. Its successful passage and execution earned for Lingle the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers Association for four years. Mayor Lingle was also credited for attracting tourism and job growth to Maui County during a period when the state tourism industry was struggling.
The state Democratic Party was accused of launching a whisper campaign
alleging that Lingle was a lesbian
, and that she would abolish Christmas
as a state holiday. Previously, Governor Cayetano had given state workers all of Christmas Eve day off, and other local government leaders followed suit -- except then-Maui County Mayor Lingle, who said it would be too costly.
After being defeated, Lingle was elected chair of the Hawaii Republican Party. She served from 1999 to 2002. During her tenure as party chair, Lingle overhauled party policies and gave the party a lift she believed was needed to make the party competitive in a historically Democratic Party-dominated state. Internal reforms proved successful and Lingle succeeded in electing more Republicans to seats in both houses of the Hawaii State Legislature. At the peak of Republican success, the party held 19 of the 51 seats in the state House of Representatives. Party membership grew as younger people joined. Republicans gained a more youthful appearance and had reinvented itself informally as the new GOP Hawaii. Lingle is a member of The Wish List
, America's largest fundraising and campaign political action committee
for Pro-choice Republican Women and The Republican Majority for Choice.
Lingle ran on her "Agenda for New Beginnings," a campaign platform developed to promote Republican leadership and highlight their criticisms of the previous 40 years of Democratic administration of the state. It also cited differences between Lingle's message and the previous, more conservative platforms which Hawaii Republicans had advocated.
Focusing less on her mayoral accomplishments and more on the message of reform, Lingle won the election alongside former state judge James Aiona
, who became Lingle's lieutenant governor.
Lingle was the first state Governor-elect not to be inaugurated at the Coronation Pavilion on the grounds of Iolani Palace. She was inaugurated in the rotunda of the Hawaii State Capitol
. She took the oath of office
upon a Tanakh
.
, paid for by the Israeli Government.
Lingle enjoyed high approval ratings, usually around the 70 percent range and spent much of 2004 campaigning for state legislative candidates (the legislature has a Democratic supermajority and she wanted to have enough members to block them from overriding her vetoes) and campaigned for President George W. Bush
on the "mainland
" (the contiguous states). With some polling late in the election showed Bush tied or narrowly leading Democrat John Kerry
, Lingle attempted to help Republicans carry her state for the first time since 1984. Vice President Dick Cheney
also campaigned in the state. Ultimately, not only did Kerry win the state, but Republicans lost five seats in the state legislature, reducing their presence to near single-digits and causing the Democrats to consider Lingle more vulnerable than they initially expected. In spite of their new confidence, Lingle was re-elected after her 2006 re-election campaign.
In education, she has attempted to divide the State Board of Education into seven local school boards, but failed. One of the more controversial issues Lingle has championed is the practice of sending prisoners to the mainland, as opposed to building a new prison in Hawaii.
, then Senate President Bobby Bunda
, former Congressman Ed Case
(who ran for U.S. Senate), U.S. Congressman Neil Abercrombie
, and Hawaii County
Mayor Harry Kim
. Despite the difficulty of finding an opponent for Lingle, former State Senator Randy Iwase
decided to run for Governor. In the primary election he easily defeated Waianae Harbormaster William Aila Jr., and ended up with former Big Island State Senator Malama Solomon as his running mate. Over the course of the campaign, Iwase was considered an underdog who had only spent $340,000, compared to Lingle's $6 million; in his ads, he attacked Lingle over her relationship with President Bush. Governor Lingle won by the largest margin in state history, 63 percent to 35 percent.
from having to undertake an environmental assessment before operating in Hawaii waters. The Superferry is an $80 million high-speed ferry. Despite the Court's ruling, the ferry sailed to Kauai without an environmental assessment. It was met by protesters on surfboards who turned the ferry back to Oahu. Lingle summoned a massive police and Coast Guard
response. She told Kauai protesters that they would be charged under Hawaii's anti-terrorism laws if they continued to interfere with the Superferry's operation. Lingle sought a legislative exemption from environmental law on behalf of a Superferry (known as Act Two). Several Maui groups, including the Sierra Club
, Maui Tomorrow and the Kahului Harbor Coalition challenged the law as unconstitutional, citing a violation of separation of powers
, and favoritism towards a single company.
2008 Republican Convention
Lingle received national exposure when she delivered a primetime address on the third night of the 2008 Republican National Convention
praising John McCain
's choice of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin
as his vice-president
ial running-mate. Lingle and Palin, both Republican women governors of non-contiguous states
, are friends who grew acquainted through the Republican Governors Association
. Lingle's speech filled the role of the traditional address formally nominating the vice-presidential candidate, though Palin was not officially nominated until the next night.
School furlough sit-in
On April 13, 2010, two student protesters who were occupying her office were arrested and criminal trespassing citations were issued to eight others. The demonstrators were part of a sit-in to protest a school furlough policy implemented due to budget shortages. The following day, April 14, two more protesters were arrested and citations were issued to five other protesters.
Civil union veto
Lingle on July 6, 2010 vetoed Hawaii House Bill 444
, which would have allowed for civil union
s for couples in Hawaii, arguing the issue should be decided by referendum. Young v. Lingle was filed in response to that veto.
radio show that she will run for the open seat vacated by retiring U.S. Senator Daniel Akaka
(D-HI).
Her uncle founded the Cutter Ford car dealerships in Hawaii
.
Lingle is active in the Republican Jewish Coalition
, serving as a speaker at events and otherwise using her role as the only Jewish Republican US governor.
President George W. Bush
appointed her to serve on the Honorary Delegation to accompany him to Jerusalem for the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel in May 2008.
Governor of Hawaii
The Governor of Hawaii is the chief executive of the state of Hawaii and its various agencies and departments, as provided in the Hawaii State Constitution Article V, Sections 1 through 6. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by popular suffrage of residents of the state...
of Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. Lingle holds a number of distinctions: first Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
elected governor of Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
since the departure of William F. Quinn
William F. Quinn
William Francis Quinn was the Governor of the Territory of Hawai'i from 1957 to 1959 and the Governor of the State of Hawai'i from 1959 to 1962. Originally appointed to the office by President Dwight D...
in 1962, first county mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
elected governor of Hawaii, first female governor of Hawaii, first Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
governor of Hawaii; the first governor of Hawaii not to have any children; she has been married and divorced twice. During the 2004 Republican National Convention
2004 Republican National Convention
The 2004 Republican National Convention, the presidential nominating convention of the Republican Party of the United States, took place from August 30 to September 2, 2004 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Lingle served as chairwoman of the convention during the absence of permanent chairman Dennis Hastert
Dennis Hastert
John Dennis "Denny" Hastert was the 59th Speaker of the House serving from 1999 to 2007. He represented as a Republican for twenty years, 1987 to 2007.He is the longest-serving Republican Speaker in history...
from the convention floor. Prior to her gubernatorial administration, Lingle served as Maui County
Maui County, Hawaii
-National protected areas:* Haleakala National Park* Kakahaia National Wildlife Refuge* Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge- Demographics :As of the 2000 Census, there were 128,094 people, 43,507 households, and 29,889 families residing in the county. The population density was 110 people per...
mayor, councilmember, and chair of the Hawaii Republican Party.
Lingle announced her candidacy for the United States Senate
United States Senate election in Hawaii, 2012
The 2012 United States Senate election in Hawaii will take place on November 6, 2012 concurrently with the 2012 U.S. presidential election as well as other elections to the United States Senate and House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic U.S...
in October 2011 for the open seat vacated by retiring U.S. Senator Daniel Akaka
Daniel Akaka
Daniel Kahikina Akaka is the junior U.S. Senator from Hawaii and a member of the Democratic Party. He is the first U.S. Senator of Native Hawaiian ancestry and is currently the only member of the Senate who has Chinese ancestry....
.
Early life, education, and early career
Born Linda Cutter in St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, in 1953, Lingle moved with her family to Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
when she was 12. She graduated from Birmingham High School
Birmingham High School
Birmingham Community Charter High School is a public coeducational high school in the neighborhood/district of Lake Balboa in the San Fernando Valley section of Los Angeles, California, United States...
in Lake Balboa, California (at that time, part of Van Nuys), then received her bachelor's degree in journalism cum laude from California State University, Northridge
California State University, Northridge
California State University, Northridge is a public university in Northridge, a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, California, United States....
, in 1975.
Soon after that, she followed her father to Hawaii, working first in Honolulu as a public information officer for the Teamsters
Teamsters
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of several local and regional locals of teamsters, the union now represents a diverse membership of blue-collar and professional workers in both the public and private sectors....
and Hotel Workers Union. Later, she moved to Molokai
Molokai
Molokai or Molokai is an island in the Hawaiian archipelago. It is 38 by 10 miles in size with a land area of , making it the fifth largest of the main Hawaiian Islands and the 27th largest island in the United States. It lies east of Oahu across the 25-mile wide Kaiwi Channel and north of...
, where she started the Molokai Free Press, a community newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
.
County politics
In 1980, Lingle was elected to the Maui County Council, where she served five two-year terms. Lingle served three of those terms representing Molokai and two terms as an at-large member. Upon the 1990 retirement of Hannibal TavaresHannibal Tavares
Hannibal M. Tavares was an American politician. Tavares served as the Mayor of Maui from 1979 until 1991. He holds the distinction of being the longest-serving Mayor of Maui in history....
as mayor of Maui County
Mayor of Maui
The Mayor of Maui is the chief executive officer of the County of Maui in the state of Hawaii. He or she has municipal jurisdiction over the islands of Kahoolawe, Lanai, Maui and Molokai...
, Lingle decided to challenge former Maui mayor and Hawai'i State Speaker of the House of Representatives Elmer Cravalho for the seat. Despite polls showing Lingle trailing far behind her Democratic
Democratic Party of Hawaii
The Democratic Party of Hawaii is an arm of the Democratic Party of the United States based in Honolulu, Hawaii. The party is a centralized organization established to promote the party platform as drafted in convention biennially...
opponent, Lingle proved victorious. The Honolulu Advertiser
Honolulu Advertiser
The Honolulu Advertiser was a daily newspaper published in Honolulu, Hawaii. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the largest daily newspaper in the American state of Hawaii. It published daily with special Sunday and Internet editions...
and Honolulu Star-Bulletin
Honolulu Star-Bulletin
The Honolulu Star-Bulletin was a daily newspaper based in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the second largest daily newspaper in the state of Hawaii...
newspapers declared the election one of the biggest upsets in Hawai'i political history. She became the youngest person elected to the office of Maui County Mayor, at the age of 37, as well as the first woman. She was sworn into office as Mayor of Maui on January 2, 1991. In 1994, Lingle easily won re-election.
Under Lingle's leadership, Maui County implemented performance-based budgeting. Its successful passage and execution earned for Lingle the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers Association for four years. Mayor Lingle was also credited for attracting tourism and job growth to Maui County during a period when the state tourism industry was struggling.
1998 gubernatorial campaign
Lingle would once again attempt an upset victory, this time in pursuit of the governor's office in 1998. Barred from seeking a third term as mayor of Maui, Lingle was nominated by the Hawaii Republican Party to run against incumbent Governor Benjamin J. Cayetano. Republican party members believed that Lingle was the best shot at the office and that 1998 would probably be the only chance the party would have of ever winning. Lingle capitalized on the anger of Hawaii residents over the stagnant economy and their dissatisfaction with the strategies employed by the Democrats in attempt to solve the problem. Cayetano trailed in the media polls heading into the November election but on the evening of the election, Cayetano and Lingle were separated by a single percentage point forcing a recount. Lingle was defeated in the closest election in Hawaii history.The state Democratic Party was accused of launching a whisper campaign
Whisper campaign
A whispering campaign or whisper campaign is a method of persuasion in which damaging rumors or innuendo are spread about the target, while the source of the rumors seeks to avoid being detected while spreading them...
alleging that Lingle was a lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
, and that she would abolish Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
as a state holiday. Previously, Governor Cayetano had given state workers all of Christmas Eve day off, and other local government leaders followed suit -- except then-Maui County Mayor Lingle, who said it would be too costly.
State party chair
The Wish List (political organization)
The Wish List is a political action committee devoted to electing pro-choice Republican women to the House of Representatives and Senate. The Wish List was founded in 1992. The acronym "WISH" stands for Women In the Senate and House. It can be considered a counterpart to another organization:...
, America's largest fundraising and campaign political action committee
Political action committee
In the United States, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect political candidates or to advance the outcome of a political issue or legislation. Legally, what constitutes a "PAC" for purposes of regulation is a...
for Pro-choice Republican Women and The Republican Majority for Choice.
2002 gubernatorial campaign
Barred from seeking a third term, Cayetano announced his retirement from political service in 2002. Having become even more popular among Hawaii residents, Lingle was nominated as the Republican candidate for the office of Governor of Hawaii. As Hawaii Democrats nominated incumbent Lieutenant Governor Mazie K. Hirono, it was one of the few gubernatorial races in which both major candidates were women.Lingle ran on her "Agenda for New Beginnings," a campaign platform developed to promote Republican leadership and highlight their criticisms of the previous 40 years of Democratic administration of the state. It also cited differences between Lingle's message and the previous, more conservative platforms which Hawaii Republicans had advocated.
Focusing less on her mayoral accomplishments and more on the message of reform, Lingle won the election alongside former state judge James Aiona
James Aiona
James R. "Duke" Aiona, Jr. is an American politician who served as Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii from 2002 to 2010. He is of Hawaiian, Chinese, and Portuguese descent...
, who became Lingle's lieutenant governor.
Lingle was the first state Governor-elect not to be inaugurated at the Coronation Pavilion on the grounds of Iolani Palace. She was inaugurated in the rotunda of the Hawaii State Capitol
Hawaii State Capitol
The Hawaii State Capitol is the official statehouse or capitol building of Hawaii in the United States. From its chambers, the executive and legislative branches perform the duties involved in governing the state...
. She took the oath of office
Oath of office
An oath of office is an oath or affirmation a person takes before undertaking the duties of an office, usually a position in government or within a religious body, although such oaths are sometimes required of officers of other organizations...
upon a Tanakh
Tanakh
The Tanakh is a name used in Judaism for the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The Tanakh is also known as the Masoretic Text or the Miqra. The name is an acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim —hence...
.
First term
Lingle signed into law the Three Strikes Law and Sex Offender Registry Website Law. She vetoed the civil union law that was passed by a majority of both legislative branches. In May 2004 Lingle led a delegation to IsraelIsrael
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, paid for by the Israeli Government.
Lingle enjoyed high approval ratings, usually around the 70 percent range and spent much of 2004 campaigning for state legislative candidates (the legislature has a Democratic supermajority and she wanted to have enough members to block them from overriding her vetoes) and campaigned for President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
on the "mainland
Mainland
Mainland is a name given to a large landmass in a region , or to the largest of a group of islands in an archipelago. Sometimes its residents are called "Mainlanders"...
" (the contiguous states). With some polling late in the election showed Bush tied or narrowly leading Democrat John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
, Lingle attempted to help Republicans carry her state for the first time since 1984. Vice President Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....
also campaigned in the state. Ultimately, not only did Kerry win the state, but Republicans lost five seats in the state legislature, reducing their presence to near single-digits and causing the Democrats to consider Lingle more vulnerable than they initially expected. In spite of their new confidence, Lingle was re-elected after her 2006 re-election campaign.
In education, she has attempted to divide the State Board of Education into seven local school boards, but failed. One of the more controversial issues Lingle has championed is the practice of sending prisoners to the mainland, as opposed to building a new prison in Hawaii.
2006 gubernatorial election
In 2006, Lingle announced her candidacy for re-election as Governor of Hawaii. In the Democratic Party, many people were speculated to run, but many of them declined, including State Senator Colleen HanabusaColleen Hanabusa
Colleen Wakako Hanabusa is the U.S. Representative for . She is a member of the Democratic Party. She was formerly a member of the Hawaii Senate, representing the 21st District since 1998...
, then Senate President Bobby Bunda
Robert Bunda
Robert "Bobby" Bunda is a former Democratic member of the Hawaii Senate, representing the 22nd District from 1994 through 2010, when he resigned his position in a bid for Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii...
, former Congressman Ed Case
Ed Case
Edward Espenett "Ed" Case is a Democratic politician and a former member of the United States House of Representatives. Case, a Blue Dog Democrat, first came to prominence in Hawaii as majority leader of the Hawaii State Legislature and for his campaign for Governor of Hawaii in 2002...
(who ran for U.S. Senate), U.S. Congressman Neil Abercrombie
Neil Abercrombie
Neil Abercrombie is the 7th and current Governor of Hawaii. He was the Democratic U.S. Representative of the First Congressional District of Hawaii which comprises urban Honolulu. He served in Congress from 1986 to 1987 and from 1991 to 2010 when he resigned to successfully run for governor...
, and Hawaii County
Hawaii County, Hawaii
Hawaii County is a county located in the U.S. state of Hawaii in the Hawaiian Islands. It is coterminous with the Island of Hawaii, often called the "Big Island" to distinguish it from the state as a whole. As of the 2010 Census the population was 185,079. The county seat is Hilo. There are no...
Mayor Harry Kim
Harry Kim (politician)
Harry Kim is a former mayor of Hawaii County, Hawaii. Hawaii County is the government of Hawaii island, known as the Big Island. He was elected in 2000, and served until 2008.- Life :...
. Despite the difficulty of finding an opponent for Lingle, former State Senator Randy Iwase
Randy Iwase
Randall Y. "Randy" Iwase is a former Hawaii State Senator. In 2006 he announced his candidacy for the Hawaii Democratic Party's nomination for Governor of Hawaii....
decided to run for Governor. In the primary election he easily defeated Waianae Harbormaster William Aila Jr., and ended up with former Big Island State Senator Malama Solomon as his running mate. Over the course of the campaign, Iwase was considered an underdog who had only spent $340,000, compared to Lingle's $6 million; in his ads, he attacked Lingle over her relationship with President Bush. Governor Lingle won by the largest margin in state history, 63 percent to 35 percent.
Second term
In August 2007, the Hawaii Supreme Court invalidated a Lingle appointee's exemption of the Hawaii SuperferryHawaii Superferry
The Hawaii Superferry was a Hawaii-based transportation company that provided passenger and vehicle transportation between Honolulu Harbor on the island of Oahu and Kahului Harbor on Maui...
from having to undertake an environmental assessment before operating in Hawaii waters. The Superferry is an $80 million high-speed ferry. Despite the Court's ruling, the ferry sailed to Kauai without an environmental assessment. It was met by protesters on surfboards who turned the ferry back to Oahu. Lingle summoned a massive police and Coast Guard
Coast guard
A coast guard or coastguard is a national organization responsible for various services at sea. However the term implies widely different responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to being a volunteer organization tasked with...
response. She told Kauai protesters that they would be charged under Hawaii's anti-terrorism laws if they continued to interfere with the Superferry's operation. Lingle sought a legislative exemption from environmental law on behalf of a Superferry (known as Act Two). Several Maui groups, including the Sierra Club
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president...
, Maui Tomorrow and the Kahului Harbor Coalition challenged the law as unconstitutional, citing a violation of separation of powers
Separation of powers
The separation of powers, often imprecisely used interchangeably with the trias politica principle, is a model for the governance of a state. The model was first developed in ancient Greece and came into widespread use by the Roman Republic as part of the unmodified Constitution of the Roman Republic...
, and favoritism towards a single company.
2008 Republican Convention
Lingle received national exposure when she delivered a primetime address on the third night of the 2008 Republican National Convention
2008 Republican National Convention
The United States 2008 Republican National Convention took place at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota, from September 1, through September 4, 2008...
praising John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
's choice of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin
Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...
as his vice-president
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
ial running-mate. Lingle and Palin, both Republican women governors of non-contiguous states
Contiguous United States
The contiguous United States are the 48 U.S. states on the continent of North America that are south of Canada and north of Mexico, plus the District of Columbia....
, are friends who grew acquainted through the Republican Governors Association
Republican Governors Association
The Republican Governors Association is a Washington, D.C.-based 527 organization founded in 1963, consisting of U.S. state and territorial governors affiliated with the Republican Party.Its Democratic Party counterpart is the Democratic Governors Association...
. Lingle's speech filled the role of the traditional address formally nominating the vice-presidential candidate, though Palin was not officially nominated until the next night.
School furlough sit-in
On April 13, 2010, two student protesters who were occupying her office were arrested and criminal trespassing citations were issued to eight others. The demonstrators were part of a sit-in to protest a school furlough policy implemented due to budget shortages. The following day, April 14, two more protesters were arrested and citations were issued to five other protesters.
Civil union veto
Lingle on July 6, 2010 vetoed Hawaii House Bill 444
Hawaii House Bill 444
House Bill 444 was a 2009 bill of the Hawaii State Legislature, passed in April 2010 and vetoed by Governor of Hawaii Linda Lingle, that would have legalized civil unions for couples in the state of Hawaii...
, which would have allowed for civil union
Civil union
A civil union, also referred to as a civil partnership, is a legally recognized form of partnership similar to marriage. Beginning with Denmark in 1989, civil unions under one name or another have been established by law in many developed countries in order to provide same-sex couples rights,...
s for couples in Hawaii, arguing the issue should be decided by referendum. Young v. Lingle was filed in response to that veto.
2012 U.S. Senate election
In October 2011, Lingle said on KSSKKSSK-FM
KSSK-FM is an adult contemporary radio station licensed to Waipahu, Hawaii, serving the Honolulu, Hawaii market, and owned by Clear Channel Communications. It is simulcast on AM 590 . The station is home to the "Perry & Price" morning show...
radio show that she will run for the open seat vacated by retiring U.S. Senator Daniel Akaka
Daniel Akaka
Daniel Kahikina Akaka is the junior U.S. Senator from Hawaii and a member of the Democratic Party. He is the first U.S. Senator of Native Hawaiian ancestry and is currently the only member of the Senate who has Chinese ancestry....
(D-HI).
Personal life
Lingle was married and divorced twice. She married her first husband, Charles Lingle, while in college, in 1972. Upon leaving California for Hawaii, she divorced him in 1975 but kept the Lingle name. During her term as mayor of Maui County, Lingle divorced her second husband, Maui attorney William Crockett, to whom she was married from 1986 to 1997. Lingle is currently single and does not have any children.Her uncle founded the Cutter Ford car dealerships in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
.
Lingle is active in the Republican Jewish Coalition
Republican Jewish Coalition
The Republican Jewish Coalition , founded in 1985, is a political lobbying group in the United States that promotes Jewish Republicans. The RJC claims that it is the most important voice on conservative political issues for the Jewish-American community...
, serving as a speaker at events and otherwise using her role as the only Jewish Republican US governor.
President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
appointed her to serve on the Honorary Delegation to accompany him to Jerusalem for the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel in May 2008.
Electoral history
External links
- "A Conversation with the Governor" Maui No Ka 'Oi MagazineMaui No Ka 'Oi MagazineMaui Nō Ka Oi Magazine is a bi-monthly regional magazine published by the Haynes Publishing Group in Wailuku, Hawaii.The phrase Maui nō ka ʻoi means "Maui is unparallel" in the Hawaiian language. Maui Nō Ka Oi Magazine features stories relating to the culture, art, dining, environmental issues,...
Vol.7 No.1 (April 2003). - "10 Most Intriguing People" Article about ten most important people in 2008 Maui politics. (Lingle is featured on page 6) Maui No Ka 'Oi MagazineMaui No Ka 'Oi MagazineMaui Nō Ka Oi Magazine is a bi-monthly regional magazine published by the Haynes Publishing Group in Wailuku, Hawaii.The phrase Maui nō ka ʻoi means "Maui is unparallel" in the Hawaiian language. Maui Nō Ka Oi Magazine features stories relating to the culture, art, dining, environmental issues,...
Vol. 12 No.3 (May 2008).