As governor, David Ige seldom publicly expressed his opinions.
But six months into private citizenship after being Hawaii’s chief executive for eight years and an elected official for almost four decades, Ige was uncharacteristically frank during an online interview Monday while discussing political changes that have occurred since he left office.
“As decisions are made and, you know, I look at it and think it’s the wrong decision, it’s hard not to react,” Ige said. “It was part of my life for 37 years, and I still very much care about the state of Hawaii. And so I definitely feel freer to express opinions now that I’m not in charge.”
Perhaps the harshest criticism Ige levied was directed toward the state Legislature, which attempted — and almost succeeded — to defund and dissolve the Hawaii Tourism Authority during this year’s session. The political power play resulted in John DeFries, the first Native Hawaiian to be HTA’s president and CEO, announcing he’ll step down when his contract expires Sept. 15.
“I really do believe that HTA is very important to the No. 1 industry in our state. And I fully supported it,” Ige said. “I thought the Legislature was really out of bounds and misdirected when they tried to take it apart.”
As the visitor industry rebounded from a pandemic shutdown and budget cuts, a perception arose that a surfeit of tourists was responsible for the erosion of local resources. DeFries was pressured by lawmakers to emphasize destination management over tourism marketing. But Ige said the HTA already had started doing that.
“You know, HTA started shifting to destination management two years ago, ahead of what the Legislature is demanding. And they were really successful,” Ige said. “If you look at the work that they did on the North Shore of Kauai with Haena State Park and during the shutdown from the rains, the torrential rains we had in Hanalei, they really reconfigured and restructured the visitors’ experience on the North Shore of Kauai.
“And they were busy implementing the same kind of principles all across the state.”
Gov. Josh Green on Friday named Mufi Hannemann, a former Honolulu mayor and and city councilman, to the HTA board. Hannemann, a former director of the state Department of Business Economic Development and Tourism, has been president and CEO of the Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association since 2015.
Green’s appointment came a day after HTA installed Hawaiian Airlines executive Blaine Miyasato as its board chair and social entrepreneur Mahina Paishon Duarte as vice chair.
Ige also questioned the prioritizing of housing and homelessness over education by both the Legislature and Green.
“I’m a little bit disappointed that education got shortchanged this session,” Ige said. “You know, we had a big surplus, and yet, the Legislature didn’t fund education, the public schools and University of Hawaii.
“When I served and when I worked at the capitol, education was always the No. 1 priority. But, I guess times have changed.”
Green has targeted homelessness and housing as his top priorities and earlier this month signed an emergency proclamation that would suspended several laws relating to land use, environmental review and historic preservation in an effort to build 50,000 homes to help stem the out-migration of workers, especially professionals, from Hawaii.
Ige said he tried to be “judicious about emergency authority,” and added he hopes Green is successful in solving the state’s housing crisis.
“We need the 50,000 homes — and if he can do it in five years, it will be a miracle,” Ige said. “A lot of the projects that are coming online are things that we identified. They were in the pipeline.
“I’m hoping that he can be successful, and only time will tell.”
Ige said he thinks Green, a Big Island physician who served as lieutenant governor during Ige’s administration, “is doing well” in transitioning to the state’s highest office.
“Being governor is unlike any other job, and there really is no preparation for it,” Ige said. “I do think that one’s life experiences helps you in different ways to be a more rounded person.
“But there is nothing like what happens on Inauguration Day, when you are responsible for the health and well-being of the community.”
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.