HONOLULU -- Gov.-elect Linda Lingle revealed some of her plans for the state Thursday.

Lingle pledged not to take $200 million out of the Hurricane Relief Fund to balance the budget.

She'll have only two weeks to submit a budget to the Legislature, after taking office Dec. 2.

She offered areas where she could find millions of dollars immediately.

"Just cut out all the cars for the directors of the deputies of the departments. A lot of the travel that the government employees do. I could walk in today, Ben, and find millions of dollars right off the top, without ever getting into a program or delivery of a service to the public," Lingle said.

She said state workers should rest assured: she won't lay them off.

"I've made it very clear throughout the campaign that I would not eliminate any existing worker's position. But, that doesn't mean we're going to do things the way they've been done. We are going to be more effective in service delivery," Lingle said.

Lingle said Democratic Gov. Ben Cayetano and his top aides are working with her chief of staff, Bob Awana, to make the transition to the state's first Republican administration in 40 years a smooth one.

She invited appointees of Cayetano to apply for jobs in her new administration.

Lingle said she's begun forming search committees to find qualified candidates to fill Cabinet positions, including a newly formed liaison with the tourist industry.

She wants them in place by her inauguration Dec. 2.

Lingle said she'd consider cabinet appointments for senior civil service employees familiar with the inner workings of their department if they were committed to her goal to improve efficiency and effectiveness.

She insisted political party affiliations wouldn't be a factor in her selections.

"No one on the search committee will be allowed to ask a person what their political party is. So when you do that, just by randomness, you end up with people of both parties or people who are independents, and belong to no party," Lingle said.

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