The debate over the fate of Hawai'i Tourism Authority president Rex Johnson is an example of how difficult it is for directors of private and public boards to decide whether to keep or terminate a high-ranking official who otherwise has had a productive and trouble-free tenure with the organization.

Johnson has led the authority for six years and has been praised for being proactive in both good and bad times. He was credited with taking quick action following the shutdown of Aloha and ATA airlines this past spring.

And as the state's largest industry struggles with slumping visitor arrivals, many tourism officials were looking to Johnson to lead them through these troubled times.

But an investigation by the state auditor recently discovered that Johnson had been sending and receiving adult-oriented e-mails on his state computer. Johnson has acknowledged sending the e-mails and apologized for his "real stupid misjudgment."

Johnson's actions have led some to call for his termination, while others have said he should be kept on as president. The 12-member HTA heard several hours of testimony Tuesday and then met behind closed doors for more than six hours without coming to a decision.

Much of the testimony was in support of Johnson.

HTA Chairman Kelvin Bloom declined to comment on why it was taking so long to come to a decision.

But two local labor lawyers said it's not unusual for directors of boards to struggle over how to discipline a top executive.

Susan Ichinose and Michael Nauyokas said the situation is made even more difficult when the executive has served the agency well with few complaints.

(Neither Ichinose nor Nauyokas is involved in the Johnson case and are providing their opinions based on their experience and news coverage.)

"This is not something that is black and white," Ichinose said. "You have a rather untenable situation where he's doing a good job, he's effective, but he's also done something that he himself said he would not do again."

The governor appoints the HTA board, which includes 12 voting members, six nominated by legislative leaders. With this kind of makeup, Ichinose said, there often is conflict.

"It's a governance issue with probably differing points of view on a diverse board, so I would say it's not unexpected that it is taking this long."

Nauyokas agreed and said Johnson's record could be causing a delay in the board's decision. He also said that politics may be involved in the decision-making process.

"I suppose there are some people who may not care for him for other reasons and might use this as a potential way to push the guy out," he said.

Regardless of the reason for the delay, Nauyokas said the board isn't being fair to Johnson or the tourism industry by dragging out its decision.

"It's not helping the agency and it's not helping Hawai'i tourism to have a guy that's sitting there in charge and he doesn't know his fate," he said.