HONOLULU – Cheers filled the Capitol Rotunda on Monday as Linda Lingle was sworn in as Hawaii's sixth governor and the first woman to hold the state's highest office.
In a multi-cultural ceremony that combined Hawaiian tradition with Lingle's Jewish faith, Lingle also became Hawaii's first Republican governor in 40 years.
Standing with her father, Richard Cutter, Lingle placed her hand on a Hebrew-English Tanakh and was sworn in by Chief Justice Ronald Moon.
James Aiona took the oath as lieutenant governor after Lingle.
Lingle said her three top goals are to restore trust and integrity to government, to expand and diversify Hawaii's tourism-dependent economy and to improve public schools.
Lingle also said she would keep her promise to not lay off state workers, saying they were important to her administration's vision.
"We as state workers must now earn back the respect of the people of Hawaii and we will spend every day doing just that,'' she said.
Lingle's Capitol inauguration was a break in tradition. Her recent predecessors took the oath standing on the Royal Bandstand on the grounds of historic Iolani Palace.
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