Tourism Authority may fire president
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Members of the Hawaii Tourism Authority's administrative committee are slated to meet this afternoon in executive session to discuss disciplinary action and the possible termination of Rex Johnson, the agency's president and chief executive officer.
Johnson is facing possible actions against him following his acknowledgment that he used his state e-mail account to send adult-oriented e-mail.
The committee makes policy recommendations related to the evaluation of the executive director and the administration of the HTA.
Discussion and/or action regarding the employment agreement with Johnson also have been put on the agenda for an Aug. 12 HTA board meeting.
"I understand that my actions were unauthorized and it was a huge error of judgment on my part," Johnson said.
ALLISON SCHAEFERS
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Rex Johnson, president and chief executive of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, is facing disciplinary action and possible termination following his acknowledgment that he used his state e-mail account to send adult-oriented e-mail.
Members of the Hawaii Tourism Authority's administrative committee, which makes policy recommendations related to the evaluation of the executive director and the administration of the HTA, are slated to meet this afternoon in executive session to discuss Johnson's standing.
Discussion and/or action regarding the employment agreement with Johnson also have been put on the agenda for an Aug. 12 HTA board meeting.
"I acknowledge receiving certain e-mails and forwarding them to friends," said Johnson, whose actions were brought to the attention of the HTA by a state auditor.
"I understand that my actions were unauthorized and it was a huge error of judgment on my part," he said.
While Johnson said that he is aware that the HTA's administrative committee has planned an executive session, he is unsure whether it will take action at that time.
"I think they will have to go to the full board and that meeting is next week," he said.
Kelvin Bloom, Doug Chang and Sharon Weiner were not immediately available to comment.
Whatever the board's decision, Johnson said that he would "stand by the board's action."
Word of the personnel matter prompted Senate Vice President Donna Mercado Kim (D-Halawa, Moanalua, Kamehameha Heights), who serves as vice chairwoman of the Senate's Tourism and Government Operations Committee, to discuss it with several HTA board members, she said.
Kim urged the HTA members that she talked with to hold a meeting of the full board and allow Johnson to answer allegations before taking any action, she said.
"There is no one more interested in the integrity of HTA than myself. I don't condone what he did and I think the board needs to take some action," Kim said. "I'm only interested that he gets due process and that the punishment matches the action."
This is not the first time Hawaii's visitor industry has dealt with allegations regarding the misuse of state resources.
Tony Vericella, a former chairman of the Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau, resigned in July 2003 after a state audit criticized him for the inappropriate use of state funds. However, at that time, the visitor's bureau had not sought Vericella's resignation, Kim said.
If Johnson is dismissed, Kim said that she is concerned that his replacement would have to overcome a steep learning curve.
"We had a difficult time finding someone, and the board was in disarray, when they hired Rex Johnson, He helped put them back on track," she said.