HONOLULU (AP) - The chairman of the Hawaii Tourism Authority will not get another term in the role.
Hawaii Gov. David Ige withdrew his nomination Thursday to reappoint Rick Fried, who became chairman of the agency in July 2015, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported .
“The governor appreciates the dedication and hard work by Rick and the other volunteer members of the HTA board, which is overseeing record growth of Hawaii’s tourism economy,” said Jodi Leong, a spokeswoman for the Democratic governor.
Fried will continue to work with the agency until his term expires later this year. He said he requested the governor withdraw his name.
“I didn’t want the focus to be in any way on personalities or politics,” Fried said. “I’ve been happy to do it. It was just getting to be a distraction.”
The state Senate would have needed to confirm Fried if he was to continue in the role. Fried has been at odds with some lawmakers, who have criticized the agency’s transparency and accountability.
State Sens. Glenn Wakai and Laura Thielen have indicated that they did not support Fried for reappointment, citing concerns about a recent audit that found lacking oversight and deficient internal controls in the agency.
Thielen said the agency needs new plans to address the wavering resident satisfaction amid increasing visitor numbers.
“People in this state are just crying out for different solutions for tourism,” Thielen said. “They aren’t happy with the drive for more visitors and not addressing the impacts.”
The agency has been met with setbacks recently as it has lost staff members and faced cuts. The Legislature reduced the agency’s budget Tuesday by $13 million.
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Information from: Honolulu Star-Advertiser, http://www.staradvertiser.com
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