Like the rest of the state, Kaua‘i has experienced prosperity — a healthy construction industry, means to solve homelessness, traffic, affordable housing and the war on drug successes — in the four years she has led the state, incumbent Republican
Like the rest of the state, Kaua‘i has experienced prosperity — a healthy construction industry, means to solve homelessness, traffic, affordable housing and the war on drug successes — in the four years she has led the state, incumbent Republican Gov. Linda Lingle said.
And if she is re-elected, the state and Kaua‘i will see more of the same and an even brighter future, Lingle said.
“We are focused on helping families live a good life in Hawai‘i by making sure we have a quality public education system, that we do everything possible to keep down the cost of living,” Lingle said.
Her agenda includes protecting the environment and working toward energy self-sufficiency.
Multi-million-dollar traffic improvements are planned in perhaps the most traffic-congested area of the island — Kuhio Highway from the Wailua Bridge to the start of the Kapa‘a Bypass Road, she said.
The project calls for widening the highway from three lanes to four lanes over the Wailua Bridge going north to the bypass road.
In addition, a new bridge section will be added over the single-lane Wailua cane haul bridge, which will be converted into a two-lane bridge with a bicycle lane, she said.
The road-widening will occur in front of the historic Coco Palms Resort through a joint partnership with the owners of the one-time flagship hotel in Hawai‘i, the state Department of Transportation and Baptiste’s administration. Construction is scheduled to start summer 2007 and is to be completed in a year, Lingle said.
Negotiations involving her administration, Mayor Bryan Baptiste’s administration and owners of two proposed developments in Waipouli — another traffic-clogged area — also have produced an offer of more than $5 million from them for road improvements.
Lingle also said road-widening projects are planned on Kaumuali‘i Highway from Rice Street in Lihu‘e to Maluhia Road.
Lingle said her administration also used inexpensive strategies to ease traffic congestion, including extending the contra-flow lane times between Wailua and Hanama‘ulu and a “free green” lane allowing continuous traffic flow through the intersection of Kapule and Kuhio highways.
It was a traffic-calming measure initiated by Joseph Ka‘auwai, a Kaua‘i police officer running for Kaua‘i County Council.
Lingle also said her administration has been there for Kaua‘i County during emergencies — most recently in the aftermath of the breaching of the Ka Loko Dam in Kilauea in March that left seven people dead.
“After the Ka Loko flooding, we had the Kuhio Highway (portions overrun by hundreds of millions of gallons of water and closed to nearly one lane) repaired in less than 45 days, which was ahead of schedule,” she said.
Such emergency responders like the state Civil Defense, Lingle’s department heads, the Hawai‘i National Guard, dog-and-search teams, Kaua‘i County and the Federal Emergency Management Agency have been applauded by the public for their quick actions.
Lingle, who took a helicopter tour of the breached dam and the Morita Dam, said getting to Kaua‘i after the disaster was a priority for her.
“When we did go up to Kilauea that day, people were so gracious and understanding, even though they had suffered,” she said “They faced a loss of life, their farms. They just appreciated that we came.”
What her administration learned from the Ka Loko tragedy, it applied to the Oct.15 earthquake off the Big Island that caused some $200 million in damages there.
Lingle was on the Big Island for a debate that day, but returned to Honolulu to flesh out a statewide recovery plan, and then returned to the Big Island to show support for beleaguered residents.
About criticism by Democratic challenger Randy Iwase that her administration was ill-prepared for the aftermath of the earthquake, Lingle said, “I thought Sen. (Daniel) Inouye, D-Hawai‘i, responded the best to that charge. He said the state’s response was magnificent. He was quoted in the paper. I appreciated him separating politics from government.”
Lingle said administration also has responded as quickly to minor crises on Kaua‘i in recent years — replacing the 50-plus-year-old Wainiha Bridge after it was determined to be unsafe for use.
“I used an emergency declaration to install a temporary bridge,” Lingle said.
She also said releasing funds for an adolescent drug treatment center on Kaua‘i made her proud because it is sorely needed. Youths must now go off island for treatment.
Lingle said she also recently released funds that will benefit all of East Kaua‘i — $3 million for a new pool, which is to be part of the multi-phased YMCA recreational facility in Puhi.
To help Kaua‘i students excel in athletics, her administration recently released funds for the rubberizing of the track at the Vidinha Stadium in Lihu‘e. Why other governors didn’t release the money baffles her, she said.
“They might not have thought it was an issue of state importance,” she said. “But having been a mayor of Maui County for eight years, I think, gives me a broader view of the relationship between the local government here on Kaua‘i and the state government.”
Lingle also said building more affordable housing is a statewide priority, and her commitment is reflected on Kaua‘i through the development of the multi-phase 181-lot Pi‘ilani Mai Ke Kai residential project in Anahola, a state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands project for DHHL beneficiaries.
It was the first large project to be developed in the largest Hawaiian community in a decade.
Lingle said her administration has also set aside perhaps 1,000 acres of state lands for affordable housing projects on Kaua‘i.
Some people have objected to such projects because they represent development, she said.
Controlling development comes down to finding a balance between creating jobs for young families wanting to live in their home state and protecting Hawai‘i’s still-pristine natural resources, Lingle said.
On the state’s planned auction of the 114 residential cabins in the Koke‘e/Waimea park complex, Lingle said the current leaseholders knew they had to relinquish the 20-year leases by this December when they signed them years ago.
But Lingle said she is working on a constitutionally-sound plan, however, to give Kauaians first crack at getting the leases. Leaseholders, however, have legally contested the state’s decision to move forward with the auction.
As for the contentious Hanalei boating issue, Lingle said boatyard owner Michael Sheehan has a county Special Management Area Use permit that requires users to have a state Department of Land and Natural Resources permit to “launch and retrieve from that boatyard.”
At this time, DLNR has no commercial, motorized vessel permits issued for the Hanalei River, Hanalei Bay or Anini Beach, she said.
“And there are no intentions to issue any additional commercial vessel permits,” Lingle said.
To Iwase’s attacks on her political record for the past four years, including one of not managing the state ports properly, Lingle said, “I guess Mr. Iwase is maybe frustrated because he has no record to run on.”
For more information on Lingle’s candidacy, go to lingleaiona2006.com.
