Supporters already backing away before Hawaii tourism chief quit

Rex Johnson's resignation as CEO of the Hawai'i Tourism Authority came after he lost support from key members of Hawai'i's visitor industry and as local civic leaders redoubled their efforts to oust him. Last week, members of the HTA's board of directors were deadlocked over whether to retain Johnson or remove him for forwarding racist and sexist e-mails on his state computer, people familiar with the board said. But several board members who had previously supported Johnson turned this week after key tourism executives called for his ouster, sources said. Several visitor industry executives — including former Hawai'i Visitors & Convention Bureau and ex-Hawaiian Airlines CEO Paul Casey and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Senior Vice President Keith Vieira — said they did not believe that Johnson is a racist but expressed worries... [read full story]