Lingle, Aiona file; governor continues to mobilize campaign

HONOLULU — Standing side by side, Republican incumbent Gov. Linda Lingle and Lt. Gov. James Aiona Jr. officially filed nomination papers for re-election this week.

“The lieutenant governor and I have been successful governing as a team, and we look forward to serving another four years together,” Lingle said in a press release from her office.

“We are excited about this campaign, and look forward to campaigning in communities across the state to discuss important issues and talk about our plans for the future of Hawai‘i.”

Despite outspoken criticism of Hawai‘i’s high taxes and costs associated with energy and cost of living, Lingle said she and Aiona will focus on maintaining the economic momentum of the state’s booming visitor industry and housing market.

“A vibrant and strong economy is the foundation of our state’s ability to meet the challenges and capitalize on opportunities in the coming years,” the former Maui mayor said.

“A strong economy provides the resources we need to renovate our schools, upgrade our infrastructure, purchase lands for conservation, fund drug prevention and treatment programs, develop affordable housing and invest in our workforce development.”

Lingle said they will continue to focus on school reform, including the formation of local school boards and a mandating that 90 percent of all funds earmarked for education reach the classroom.

Lingle’s re-election campaign is rapidly gearing up for the grueling months ahead.

Last week she opened her campaign headquarters in Honolulu, then named Alton Kuioka, a Bank of Hawai‘i director, her campaign finance chair.

On Thursday she announced that longtime aide Lenny Klompus will take an unpaid leave of absence starting Monday to work full-time on the governor’s bid for another four years.

Most recently Lingle’s senior advisor for communications, Klompus was an integral part of the governor’s 2002 campaign.

This time around, he will oversee all communications for the upcoming campaign, as well as provide strategic counsel as part of its senior staff on various day-to-day logistics, a separate press release from Lingle’s office states.

“Since Gov. Lingle took office on Dec. 2, 2002, we have made a conscious effort to keep the business of state government separate from anything campaign-related and will continue to do so,” Klompus said in the release.

With the campaign now at hand, Klompus said he stepped down to make sure those lines are not crossed.

In the same vein, Klompus praised the administration for it’s efforts at transparent government.

“Over the past three-and-a-half years, the governor’s communications team has worked collaboratively with the policy division and all state departments and agencies to keep the public completely informed about the administration’s priorities, plans and results of how their tax dollars are being spent to improve the quality of life for all the people of Hawai‘i,” said Klompus.

“I am proud that this administration has been successful in making state government more open and accessible to the public.”

During Klompus’ 16-week absence, communications manager Lois Hamaguchi and media relations chief Russell Pang will pick up the slack, the release states.

“Lenny has been the catalyst of our administration’s efforts to strengthen two-way communication between state government and the public,” Lingle said in the release.

“Together, we’ve worked diligently to include the public in the decision-making and development of key administration initiatives. Concurrently, we fostered an environment that is open and responsive to the public’s ideas and concerns. As a result, we believe the public feels part of the process and has a better sense of what their government is accomplishing. Because of this solid foundation, our communications team will be able to seamlessly continue this effort during Lenny’s leave of absence.”