HONOLULU —State Sen. Kurt Fevella called on Gov. Josh Green to seek the resignations of two top state officials from the two main state agencies overseeing tourism on Monday due to allegations of a hostile work environment, which he said included alleged racist and sexist comments against Native Hawaiians.
Fevella (R, Ewa Beach), said, “There is a toxic and hostile work environment at HTA. Because of the efforts to sweep this matter under the rug, I am calling for the resignations of James Tokioka, director of the (Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism), and Issac Choy, HTA’s acting chief administrative officer.”
The news conference followed a sign-waving in front of the state Capitol, which was attended by about a dozen people, and was a follow-up to a request that Fevella made Thursday to state Attorney General Anne E. Lopez to investigate complaints that Choy allegedly had referred to an HTA contractor, the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, as “dumb Hawaiians” and also was alleged to have “demeaned and belittled” female HTA board members.
Fevella also alleged that a hostile workplace contributed to the recent resignations of several HTA employees who were Native Hawaiian, including Daniel Naho‘op‘i, former interim HTA president, who resigned from HTA on March 21. Other recent resignations by Native Hawaiian staff have included Maka Casson-Fisher, HTA brand manager; ‘Iwalani Kaho‘ohanohano, HTA senior brand manger; Ilihia Gionson, HTA public affairs officer; and most recently Kalani Ka‘ana‘ana, HTA chief stewardship officer and interim public affairs officer, whose resignation was effective Friday.
Choy responded to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in an email Monday saying, “I deny Senator Fevella’s false allegations. The Attorney General will investigate these matters, and I have been advised to reserve specific responses for the investigation.”
Choy, a former state tax director and lawmaker who was elected to five terms in the House of Representatives serving the Manoa district from 2008 through 2018, joined HTA in 2023. For more than a year, he said, he has worked with staff, the Department of the Attorney General, other public bodies and the Legislature to report and resolve violations or suspected violations of law, rule or regulations and contracts executed by HTA.
“To protect against retaliation, the Attorney General’s office has acknowledged my staff and me as whistleblowers,” he said. “It is unfortunate that the recent allegations appear to be in retaliation for the work done by me and the staff of the HTA Finance-Procurement Section.”
When queried about the attorney general’s involvement or Choy’s designation as a “whistleblower,” Toni Schwartz, spokesperson for the Department of the Attorney General, said in an email Monday, “The Department of the Attorney General will not make statements on the existence or status of possible pending investigations.”
Makana McClellan, Green’s director of communications, said in an email, “The Governor has directed Attorney General Lopez and DHRD Director Hashimoto to thoroughly investigate these allegations, determine the facts and identify any appropriate next steps.”
HTA board Chair Todd Apo said the board also is waiting for the attorney general’s guidance.
State Sen. Lynn DeCoite (D, Hana-East and Upcountry Maui-Molokai-Lanai-Kahoolawe), chair of the Senate Committee on Energy, Economic Development and Tourism, told the Star-Advertiser in a phone interview Monday, “HTA is in the paper every week. We’ve had many challenges with them. I’m not going to second-guess what people are saying. I want accuracy and I want facts.”
DeCoite added, “I’ve known Issac Choy for years and worked with him on countless numbers of bills as a female, and I’ve never felt him to be sexist, and as a Hawaiian I’ve never felt him to be racist towards me or when around other Hawaiians.”
House Majority Leader Sean Quinlan (D, Waialua- Haleiwa-Punaluu) said, “The AG’s Office is going to look into the situation, and I think it’s really premature to call for anyone’s resignation based off of allegations, which may or may not be true.”
Choy said, “I believe that the results of the AG investigation will confirm that the work done by me and the HTA Finance and Procurement staff has been and will continue to be in the best interests of HTA and the state and not racially discriminatory in any way.”
However, Tyler Gomes, administrator of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement’s Kilohana, filed a complaint Nov. 25 alleging that Choy called Gomes and the rest of the CNHA team “dumb Hawaiians” during an August 2023 meeting, and afterward embarked on a pattern of behavior that was “race-based in its inequity.”
Tokioka said Friday in an email that CNHA officials were not present at the August 2023 meeting but that he was there and that he had heard Choy use derogatory language during a conversation about CNHA with other HTA staff members.
He said that he placed a written warning in Choy’s personnel file in October 2024 after learning that Naho‘opi‘i, who was also present when the remark was made, had not taken further action. He said Choy apologized to staff, and the matter was considered resolved.
But Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, community leader and CNHA ambassador, who was at Fevella’s action Monday, said, “For too many years, Kanaka of Hawaii have allowed elephants in the room to multiply exponentially in both overt and covert ways — negatively impacting our existence in our homeland.”
During the news conference, Fevella alleged that Choy also had made unresolved racist and sexist remarks to two Native Hawaiian female board members and had threatened staff. He said DBEDT’s human resources was aware of complaints, but alleged that Tokioka protected Choy because they were friends.
Tokioka told the Star- Advertiser in an email Monday, “After allegations were made, the DBEDT human resources officer met with former interim HTA President &CEO Daniel Naho‘opi‘i on a number of occasions regarding the complaints. Mr. Naho‘opi‘i stated in numerous meetings with Deputy Attorney General John Cole present that he would address the allegations but did not follow up with VP of Finance Isaac Choy or anyone else.”
Naho‘opi‘i told the Star- Advertiser on Saturday that a key reason he left HTA was that he was prevented from effectively addressing numerous complaints involving Choy, including two formal complaints from HTA board members, two complaints from HTA contractors, one formal complaint from an HTA employee and multiple other informal employee complaints.
Naho‘opi‘i said he felt threatened because Tokioka had tried to discipline him, unsuccessfully, after Naho‘opi‘i represented the HTA board’s position on a bill in 2024 that was not aligned with DBEDT’s position.
