HTA Whistleblower Isaac Choy Illegally Fired by Governor’s Chief of Staff
by Andrew Walden
Retaliation is a wave that rolls outward from the Fifth Floor.
That’s the message from attorneys representing former State Rep Isaac Choy, in a September 16, 2025 court filing.
Choy had been suing the State and the HTA for retaliation, based on his being placed on unpaid leave and perp-walked out of his office, May 9, 2025.
At HTA, Choy had made the mistake of investigating corruption by Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement--a key ally of Governor Josh Green. He was placed on leave in direct response to a CNHA complaint alleging 'racism.'
Now he is asking to amend his lawsuit to include his full-on termination.
Court documents allege Choy was illegally fired September 5, 2025, on the written order of Green’s Chief of Staff, Brooke Wilson.
In typical Hawaii media fashion, today’s Star-Advertiser article breaking this news, makes only the barest mention of the role allegedly played by the Governor’s office.
The cover-up is often worse than the crime.
Here are some key passages from Choys’ Motion to Amend that the Star-Advertiser left out:
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MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF MOTION
I. INTRODUCTION
Plaintiff Isaac William Choy (“Plaintiff” or “Mr. Choy”) should be granted leave to amend his Complaint and assert additional claims against Defendants Hawaii Tourism Authority, Caroline Anderson, and Brooke Wilson (collectively, “Defendants”) based on events occurring after the initial filing. …
II. RELEVANT FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
A. Relevant Factual Background
In or about April of 2023, HTA hired Mr. Choy to serve as Vice President of Finance. At all relevant times, Mr. Choy performed his duties as Vice President of Finance competently and, in doing so, investigated and reported numerous violations of state laws, rules, regulations, and contracts to HTA officials and other state authorities, including procurement violations, contract mismanagement, and improper expenditures by HTA vendors and personnel.
On or around April 28, 2025, Ms. Anderson made inappropriate and discriminatory remarks related to Mr. Choy’s age during an HTA staff meeting. On April 30, 2025, Mr. Choy filed a formal complaint against Ms. Anderson for harassment in violation of the Executive Branch Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy (DHRD P&P 601.001) based on the discriminatory treatment and derogatory comments she directed towards Mr. Choy during this staff meeting. Shortly thereafter, on May 9, 2025, Ms. Anderson placed Mr. Choy on unpaid administrative leave, publicly escorted him from the HTA offices, and later issued a press release about his suspension. Ms. Anderson improperly placed Mr. Choy on unpaid leave based on unsubstantiated allegations of workplace misconduct and accused him of posing a health and safety threat to other HTA employees. Rather than relying on a clear standard, Ms. Anderson shifted inconsistently between multiple policies in an effort to justify her decision to place Mr. Choy on unpaid leave.
Placing Mr. Choy on leave without pay, without any legitimate basis under State law, was a transparent attempt by HTA and Ms. Anderson to harm Mr. Choy financially and unlawfully coerce him into resigning his position from HTA, to prevent him from providing additional details about the violations of State laws, rules, regulations, and contracts Mr. Choy had reported or was about to report. Upon information and belief, Ms. Anderson’s decision to place Mr. Choy on unpaid leave was also made in retaliation for the age discrimination complaint Mr. Choy filed against her on April 30, 2025.
In June 2025, Mr. Choy, through his counsel, expressed concerns about the Attorney General’s involvement in the investigation to Anne Marie Puglisi, the purported “independent investigator” retained by Defendants. By email sent June 26, 2025, Ms. Puglisi informed Mr. Choy that her role was to prepare an investigation report and “provide that to the decision maker, who is Brooke Wilson, the governor’s Chief of Staff.” Ms. Wilson, a former public relations manager and lobbyist with no experience in tourism, employee relations, or workplace investigations, had never supervised Mr. Choy or handled employee discipline at HTA. Upon information and belief, Governor Green designated Ms. Wilson as the “decision maker” with regard to Mr. Choy’s employment status at HTA. Therefore, all of Ms. Wilson’s statements and actions with respect to Mr. Choy are directly attributable to Governor Green.
On July 21, 2025, Ms. Wilson, signing as Chief of Staff to Governor Green, issued a letter from the Executive Chambers introducing new, unexplained allegations against Mr. Choy that had not appeared in Ms. Anderson’s earlier letter. On September 5, 2025, Ms. Wilson, again writing from the Governor’s Executive Chambers, asserted that a “thorough investigation” had been conducted but provided neither the final report nor any summary of the findings from the investigator. In her September 5, 2025, letter, Ms. Wilson admitted the investigation found no evidence that Mr. Choy violated the workplace violence policy, procurement, or ethics policies, yet she nonetheless concluded based on minimal, still largely anecdotal allegations that Mr. Choy had “more likely than not” violated the EEO Policy and was “no longer fit for state employment.”
Acting as Governor Green’s designated “decision maker,” Ms. Wilson discharged Mr. Choy effective September 15, 2025. Upon information and belief, the decision to terminate Mr. Choy was not approved by the DEBDT Director, as required by HRS § 26-35(a)(4). The decision to terminate Mr. Choy was made in retaliation for the violations of State laws, rules, regulations, and contracts Mr. Choy had reported, and in retaliation for Mr. Choy’s refusal to resign from employment and disappear quietly, so that Mr. Choy would no longer be a political problem for the current State administration.
Ms. Wilson’s determination, on behalf of Governor Green, sends a chilling message to all State employees:
If you report violations of State laws, rules, regulations or contracts and you get on the wrong side of the current State administration, then you will be put on leave without pay; have your reputation trashed in the news media; and be fired by a letter emailed from the Executive Chambers of the Governor’s Office. …
read … FULL TEXT
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SA: Choy fired while suing Hawai‘i Tourism Authority for retaliation | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
REALITY: