Posted on: Tuesday, September 18, 2001

Governor to meet with state leaders

By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Capitol Bureau Chief

Gov. Ben Cayetano is calling together political, business and community leaders tomorrow morning to devise ways to cushion Hawai'i from the economic impact of the Mainland terrorist attacks.

The four county mayors have been invited to the meeting at the State Capitol, along with leading state lawmakers and representatives from the airline, tourism, banking and retail industries, said Cayetano press secretary Kim Murakawa.

Lawmakers already are hearing alarming accounts of empty hotels and stores, and House Speaker Calvin Say predicted that the shock to the local economy will be greater than the Gulf War.

"To be very honest, I don't know where to begin," said Say, D-18th (Palolo, St. Louis, Kaimuki). "You want to help the airlines, (but) how can you help the airlines? It's a national problem."

Senate Ways and Means Chairman Brian Taniguchi said some people believe Hawai'i should back off on its tourism promotion for a time. They reason that money spent now is wasted because travel probably won't increase in the next 30 to 60 days no matter how much the state spends, he said.

Others disagree and argue the state should pour more money into the marketing effort, he said.

"At this point in time, everything is on the table," said Taniguchi, D-11th (McCully-Mo'ili'ili-Manoa).

House Minority Leader Galen Fox said he expects the terrorist attacks that destroyed four jetliners and their crews and passengers will hit Hawai'i's economy harder than any other state.

"I'm not a specialist on tourism, but one of the things we have to do is use our marketing money in some manner to effectively communicate the fact that Hawai'i is open for business and continues to offer the kind of safe family vacation," said Fox, R-21st (Waikiki-Ala Wai).

Senate Minority Floor Leader Fred Hemmings has urged Cayetano to consider an emergency session of the Legislature, but Murakawa said there is no immediate plan for one.

"I think he will wait to hear from the business and community leaders Wednesday before making a final decision on something like that," she said.