The aftermath of Sunday's earthquakes and blackout took a decidedly partisan turn yesterday as trailing gubernatorial candidate Randall Iwase and allies fired a loud broadside at Gov. Linda Lingle for alleged failures of leadership.

"In the cold light of reflection, the state's emergency response to Sunday's earthquake was clearly unacceptable," said Iwase, who held a news conference with running-mate Malama Solomon and U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie.

The three Democrats charged that delays in broadcasting information to the public immediately after the quakes showed that the state's emergency communication plan is badly flawed. They dismissed Republican Lingle's creation of a review committee as a public relations ploy.

Lingle was unavailable yesterday, but her chief spokesman, Lenny Klompus, said the governor had shown strong leadership by moving quickly to address problems.

"I just don't think anyone should take a situation like this and politicize it," said Klompus, who will chair the review panel. "They don't seem to have a grasp of the facts."

Iwase said the state should be much better prepared for disasters, and insisted he was not attempting to capitalize on Sunday's emergency to promote his candidacy.

'DO YOU FEEL SAFE?'

"It's not a political issue," he said. "We're here today to point out what's not going to be pointed out by the administration. ... What we're talking about is, do you feel safe?"

Abercrombie gave a similar explanation: "Earthquakes are no respecters of Republicans or Democrats. Either the government is doing its job or it isn't. Either you approve of what the government does or you don't, and that's a decision that has to be made."

Maj. Gen. Robert Lee, who oversees the state's Civil Defense and National Guard, said communication improvements are needed, but that the state can't simply impose solutions on private broadcasters. They may need to invest in staffing, generators and other equipment, and that's why it is important to involve them in weighing solutions.

Iwase and the other Democrats charged that Lingle's decision to declare the entire state a disaster area had been an over-reaction that could harm the tourism industry and economy by creating the false impression that damage had been more severe.

Iwase noted that most serious quake damage had been limited to a few locations, and that the blackout had not been statewide.

"Leadership would be a governor telling the world that the quake effects were largely confined to the Big Island and that all the other islands are up and running and welcoming tourists upon which we depend," Iwase said.

But Lee said the declaration had been a prudent and correct decision that made public safety a priority, allowed the state to mobilize National Guard troops if necessary, and expedited the response from federal emergency officials.

It was safer to declare a statewide emergency and "peel back" areas found to be undamaged, rather than attempt a piecemeal approach that could limit response options, Lee said.

DISASTER DECLARATION

President Bush on Tuesday issued a disaster declaration that provides assistance for debris removal and certain emergency protective measures.

But Iwase characterized the state's release of a tourism promotional video as evidence of a scramble to control the damage of Lingle's disaster declaration.

Klompus said there was no indication of hotel room cancellations or harm to the economy. And state tourism liaison Marsha Wienert said Tuesday that the Big Island is ready to handle the same number of visitors it would have if no quakes had occurred, noting that all hotels are open and major roads are clear. Wienert said yesterday that the video would help potential visitors understand that the state is safe.

Abercrombie called Sunday's communications problems "a total and complete failure" of the state's emergency communication system, noting that it took nearly an hour for the first radio news and damage reports to be broadcast.

"Nobody knew what was going on, starting with the governor," Abercrombie said.

NO SIRENS

He said emergency sirens should have promptly wailed so that residents would know to turn on battery-powered radios, and that emergency information should have been relayed much quicker.

But Lee said the sirens did not sound because they are designed to warn of immediate safety threats — which was not the case on Sunday. Sounding the sirens could have caused confusion and panic, jamming roads with frantic people fleeing an imagined tsunami, Lee said.

He said communications had clearly been slower than they should have been, but that calling the situation a complete failure was an unwarranted overstatement.

Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com.