The union that represents more than 13,000 Hawai'i public school teachers will announce today that it has endorsed former state Sen. Randall Iwase for governor in the Nov. 7 general election.

"Randy has always been a fighter for education," said Hawai'i State Teachers Association spokeswoman Danielle Lum.

The union's 31-member board of directors voted on the endorsement Saturday and had planned an announcement for later this week, HSTA president Roger Takabayashi said.

But Gov. Linda Lingle's campaign pre-empted that plan by issuing a press release yesterday charging that the endorsement did not reflect the sentiment of HSTA members.

"Frankly, this endorsement is not worth the paper it was printed on," said Lingle campaign spokesman Lenny Klompus.

Lum said the endorsement followed a lengthy process that involved teachers and included a review of each candidate's decisionmaking record.

The state's largest public employee union, the Hawai'i Government Employees Association, had announced its endorsement of Iwase on Saturday.

Neither union had endorsed a gubernatorial candidate before the Sept. 23 primary election. Some HGEA officials had unsuccessfully courted Big Island Mayor Harry Kim and others to run for governor.

Three other big public-sector unions, the University of Hawai'i Professional Assembly, State of Hawai'i Organization of Police Officers and the Hawai'i Fire Fighters Association, endorsed Lingle before the primary.

Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com.