Hawaii’s Gov. Lingle endorses GOP ticket

Republican Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle is endorsing the candidacy of incumbent Gov. Juan N. Babauta and Lt. Gov. Diego T. Benavente, saying that she has seen the hard work of the two in the last four years.

“I look forward to continuing to work with them to improve education, economic opportunities, and the protection of our environment in the region, for another four years,” said Lingle.

In a recent letter to GOP chair John S. Reyes, she recalled that immediately after her inauguration, Babauta visited her and asked that Hawaii rejoin the Pacific Basin Development Council.

“[He] asked that I reinstate Hawaii’s membership [in PBDC] after being absent for eight consecutive years. I am pleased that Hawaii is now a part of PBDC because Gov. Juan N. Babauta and I have worked on many areas of common interest and concern such as Compact Impact, Tanapag cleanup, the trans-Pacific air route and preservation of the region’s coral reefs,” said Lingle.

The Hawaii governor said that Babauta and Benavente are “well known in Washington D.C. and throughout our nation for representing the high ideals of the Republican Party.”

In particular, she commended the local GOP party’s “positive and progressive leadership, which led to it receiving official membership in the Republican National Committee.”

The BB ticket had also received the endorsement of former U.S. senator and now Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, who said that Babauta’s valuable experience for 12 years as Washington Representative would be most useful to the CNMI.

He said Babauta “did an extraordinary job of making us all aware of the needs of the Commonwealth, gained valuable insights into how the federal system in Washington works, and developed influential friends and allies on whom he could call whenever the need arose.”

The Babauta-Benavente ticket had likewise got the endorsement of President Bush, as well as the leaders of the Republican Governors Association.

The RGA described Babauta as “an exceptional leader who has done wonderful things for the Commonwealth,” although his entry came shortly after the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

“Within his first year he was able to turn the situation around, restoring government solvency without layoffs or any curtailment of essential government services,” RGA said.