Executives Backtrack on Letter to Lingle

The Hawaii Business Roundtable says it does not have an official stance on the pending civil unions bill despite its executive board's June 4 letter to the governor asking her to veto the bill.

Business Roundtable executive director Gary K. Kai communicated to Gov. Linda Lingle that the initial letter was only to express concerns about administrative challenges that could come with civil unions, according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

"Unfortunately, the use of the word veto has become equivalent to some as a position against civil unions," he wrote, the newspaper reports.

Kai told The Advocate earlier this week that the letter did not reflect the concerns of all of the Roundtable's members and that it was sent only from the executive board.

"Each member has to make their own decision as to what their stance is on the bill," he said. "They're perfectly free to do so."

The statement came as many individuals and businesses affiliated with the Hawaii Business Roundtable were making public statements to distance themselves from the executive board's letter, including Time Warner Cable and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide.