Hawaii Tourism Authority Chief Executive Rex Johnson resigned this evening after an eight-hour meeting, much of it behind closed doors.

“;At this point, certain accusations have made Rex a lightning rod for controversy. This has become a distraction to the effectiveness of the HTA and we respect his decision,”; said HTA Chairman Kelvin Bloom.

An interim CEO will be named soon and a search committee will be organized immediately, Bloom said.

“;Rex's decision is clearly in the best interests of all concerned,”; he said.

Both Johnson and the HTA have been under fire since June when a state auditor flagged Johnson's e-mail account for pornography. In August, the board punished Johnson by docking his pay to $200,000 and cutting his four-year contract to one-year. However, when new allegations surfaced in September that the content of some of the e-mails that Johnson had chosen to forward to friends also included racist and sexist jokes, the issue reignited in the community.

Johnson was not available for comment after tendering his resignation and the terms were not disclosed.

”;I want to thank the tourism industry leadership, community, staff and friends who have shown me so much support,”; Johnson said. “;I intend to support Hawaii's tourism industry in whatever way that I can.