KOLOA – With a name like hers, it makes sense for Linda Reagan to be one of Hawaii’s delegates to the Republican Party’s national presidential nominating convention.
Reagan-same party, but no relation to the former president-leaves Kaua’i today on a trip to Philadelphia, Pa., where she’ll join 13 other Hawaiians in formally picking George W. Bush for the run for the White House.
“It’s an honor to represent the Republicans of Hawaii,” said Reagan, who was elected with the other delegates during the party’s state convention.
Reagan thinks Bush getting the official nomination next Thursday will be the biggest convention thrill for her. It’s history, she noted.
Bush’s selection of Dick Cheney, former defense secretary of his father’s presidency, to be his running mate was the right move, Reagan said.
“Cheney is a good candidate for vice president. He fills the need for foreign relations” experience, she said.
An Ohio native who moved to Kaua’i from Oahu, Reagan has become more politically active in recent years.
“Going to the convention isn’t really a dream for me. But I suppose I’m a political junkie compared to the average citizen,” she said.
The last Kaua’ian delegate to the GOP’s national convention was Melinda Nesti four years ago, said Barbara Hollenbeck, a spokeswoman for the island’s Republican organization.
Hollenbeck has national convention experience, too, but not since becoming a Republican. She was a college student when she was a California delegate in the Democrats’ 1960 confab that picked John F.
Kennedy.
Editor Pat Jenkins can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 229) or pjenkins@pulitzer.net
