D.C. SUPERPAC MONEY SHOWS LINGLE AND HIRONO IN A CLOSE RACE

News Release from www.Lingle2012.com

HONOLULU - "Governor Linda Lingle and Mazie Hirono are in a neck and neck race for U.S. Senate judging by the $64,000 spent by a Washington, D.C. SuperPAC on television ads this week to prop up Hirono's faltering campaign," Lingle Campaign Manager Bob Lee said.

"The D.C.-based SuperPAC calls itself 'Working Families for Hawaii', but it's single cash contribution did not come from Hawaii," Lee said. The SuperPAC shows only one cash contribution in online records: $200,000 from the American Federation of State, County And Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO, he explained. [1]

"This same group spent more than $33,000 attacking Ed Case during the Primary Election, and they're spending more than $64,000 in one week attacking Governor Lingle. They are obviously seeing the same poll numbers we are and are starting to hear footsteps," Lee said.

"Contrary to what this Mainland labor union would like the people of Hawaii to believe, the fact is no Hawaii governor can unilaterally furlough teachers or any Department of Education (DOE) employee since they are under the Board of Education's (BOE) jurisdiction. The BOE agreed to furloughs as part of the labor contract with the Hawaii State Teachers' Association (HSTA). Governor Lingle gave her support with the explicit understanding that furloughs would take place on days when students were not scheduled to be in school," Campaign Manager Bob Lee said. [2] [3] [4] [5]

"The national labor group is running a TV ad distorting the truth about the 2010 furloughs," Lingle's former Senior Policy Advisor Linda Smith said.

"I attended meetings between Governor Lingle, the Board of Education and the Superintendent, and the Governor made it clear that her support for furloughs was conditioned on them not occurring on instructional days so that students wouldn't miss any school days," Smith added. "If Governor Lingle had not concurred with the furloughs, hundreds of teachers could have lost their jobs."

"The Governor was as surprised as anyone when the Board, Superintendent and Union agreed to inflict maximum disruption to family life and students' education by requiring that furloughs be on Fridays," Smith concluded. [6]

Governor Lingle has been a steadfast advocate for providing quality education for Hawaii's keiki. Among her proudest achievements as Governor was refocusing the state's education system on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) learning through investments in hands-on contextual learning experiences including robotics, teacher training, curriculum and science lab materials. Governor Lingle's STEM initiatives helped Hawaii obtain a $75 million federal Race to the Top grant for education reform.

Governor Lingle has also been a hands-on supporter of public education by serving as a volunteer reading tutor at Makawao Elementary School for 10 years while serving as a member of the Maui County Council and Mayor of Maui.

# # # #

SOURCING:

[1] http://reporting.sunlightfoundation.com/outside-spending/committee/working-families-for-hawaii/C00490193#spending

[2] Hawaii School Furloughs, Loren Moreno, Honolulu Advertiser. Available at The Maui News, (http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/524579/HAWAII-SCHOOL-FURLOUGHS.html) ("Lingle does not have the power to furlough or lay off workers at the state Department of Education and University of Hawaii, which are governed by independent boards.).

[3] Furlough Timeline, Honolulu Advertiser (http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2010/May/26/ln/hawaii5260347.html).

[4] Hawaii teacher furloughs will cut class time, not preparation days, Christie Wilson, Honolulu Advertiser (http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2009/Sep/25/ln/hawaii909250361.html) ("In scheduling 17 furlough days that will shut down Hawai'i's public schools, the Department of Education and the Hawaii State Teachers Association agreed not to use any of the six available waiver and professional development days to offset the loss of instructional time or relieve parents of child-care worries.").

[5] Hawaii teachers originally chose furloughs to avert pay cuts, Derrick DePledge, Honolulu Advertiser (http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2010/May/26/ln/hawaii5260348.html) ("The Hawaii State Teachers Association preferred furloughs to straight pay cuts or layoffs.").

[6] Sunrise Interview, Hawaii News Now (February 13, 2012) (http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/16925178/linda-lingle-gets-endorsement-from-hfd-retirees) ("with the furloughs, I wish I had not taken the word of the BOE that they would implement a furlough on non-instructional days. And that was a promise they made to me, and so I went along with them. And when it came out that the schedule was on instructional days, my entire administration was shocked by that. I would not have believed them based on what ended up happening. So when I look back, I think it was a mistake to take their word at that time.").

# # # #