"Who knows Linda Lingle?" an announcer says as the words appear in white against a stark black backdrop. "UHPA does. We endorsed her for governor three times. That was when she was a moderate. But make no mistake, the new Linda Lingle will vote with the conservatives."
The University of Hawaii Professional Assembly’s new television spot is part of about $230,000 in advertising on behalf of former Congressman Ed Case for U.S. Senate. In television, radio and direct mail, the faculty union has celebrated the Democrat’s Hilo roots and reinforced his campaign theme that he would have a better chance than U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono against the Republican Lingle in the November general election.
UHPA’s independent spending on the Senate campaign is second to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which has invested $750,000 in ads for Lingle.
The faculty union endorsed Case in February, the only major labor union to support the former congressman. The advertising has helped Case, who badly trails Hirono in fundraising, maintain a media presence.
"When we make an endorsement we try to be very supportive of the candidate. And in this particular race we felt that we needed to make a statement about the need for change," said Kristeen Hanselman, the associate executive director for UHPA, which represents nearly 4,000 university faculty members.
"The bottom line is Ed spoke very well to our group and to the interests of our group, particularly around inclusiveness and the recognition that faculty are an important role to be consulted and to be considered when making decisions around public higher education. He also had a real grasp of the issues that are confronting public higher education, and the interrelationship between federal funding, private funding, state funding."
Case said he is grateful for UHPA’s support. "We have a common vision and agenda for higher education and the University of Hawaii over the next generation, and I especially appreciate that UHPA views me as a full partner in the Senate," he said in a text message. "UHPA’s support of our campaign has been invaluable, from members working in our grassroots statewide to its independent expenditure ad campaign."
Leaders of the state’s top labor unions met privately last August and generally agreed to back Hirono. UHPA was one of the few holdouts at the meeting, according to sources who were present, and the only major union to eventually go with Case.
Working Families for Hawaii, a labor-oriented interest group, has spent more than $69,000 on radio ads that praised Hirono and were critical of Case. The Hawaii Government Employees Association has sent direct mail on Hirono’s behalf. But most of the labor unions in the state have been concentrating on internal outreach for Hirono among members.
With Hirono holding a double-digit lead over Case in the latest Hawaii Poll, the congresswoman and many of her allies in labor have been conserving resources for a potential November campaign against Lingle.
Randy Perreira, the HGEA’s executive director, said he hopes UHPA and others in the labor movement publicly unify behind the Democratic candidate after the primary. The faculty union had endorsed Lingle for governor over Gov. Ben Cayetano in 1998, over Hirono in 2002 and over former state Sen. Randy Iwase in 2006.
"There’s no animosity on our part," Perreira said. "All of us can learn to agree to disagree, as long as there is some assurance and understanding that, assuming that we all have the same general principles in mind, that we’re going to unify for the general election.
"They apparently have a lot of money to spend, and good luck to them."
