Mufi Hannemann is latest appointee to HTA board

Former Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann secured Gov. Josh Green’s latest appointment to the beleaguered Hawaii Tourism Authority Board, which almost got repealed by the state Legislature and has since been under pressure by Green as well as state lawmakers to change direction and leadership.

Hannemann, who heads the Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association, replaces HTA board member Ben Rafter, who owns hotels and a hotel management company. Rafter resigned from the 12-member board effective Thursday, the same day that the HTA board elected another Green appointee, Hawaiian Airlines’ Blaine Miyasato, as its new chair.

Social entrepreneur Mahina Paishon Duarte, who co-founded Waiwai Collective in 2016 and co-authored the ‘Aina Aloha Economic Futures declaration, was named vice chair.

Miyasato has worked in Hawaii’s airline industry for 40 years, and currently serves as managing director of state government affairs at Hawaiian Airlines. He is new to the HTA board.

Green, who has been critical of HTA’s ability to get the necessary legislative support to fund its missions, abruptly appointed Miyasato to the board July 7 along with the director of the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, James Kunane Tokioka.

Miyasato and Tokioka replaced former HTA board chair George Kam and board member Keone Downing. Appointed by former Gov. David Ige, they were replaced the same day that Green announced his new picks. They had not resigned, although their terms had expired June 30 and they were in holdover status.

Green’s selection of Hanne­mann follows his decision in May to appoint former Gov. Neil Abercrombie to the University of Hawaii Board of Regents, where his outspoken ways could create a shift in the measured culture of the board and in the university’s fractured relationships with some state senators. HTA, like UH, has been in a tug of war with the state Legislature over autonomy and has been the target of heavy legislative scrutiny.

Visitor industry and government sources say Hanne­mann’s seasoned political acumen could help HTA bridge the gap with lawmakers. He is currently serving a two-year term on the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board, which advises the U.S. secretary of commerce on matters that relate to the nation’s travel and tourism industry.

Rafter, appointed by Ige to the HTA board in 2018, was seen by Hawaii’s visitor industry as a strong advocate because he owns Springboard Hospitality and Jororo LLC and had the freedom to comment without running it by a boss.