David Tarnas

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David Tarnas
Image of David Tarnas
Hawaii House of Representatives District 8
Tenure

2022 - Present

Term ends

2026

Years in position

2

Predecessor
Prior offices
Hawaii House of Representatives District 7
Successor: Nicole Lowen

Compensation

Base salary

$74,160/year

Per diem

$225/day; only for legislators who do not reside on Oahu.

Elections and appointments
Last elected

November 5, 2024

Education

High school

the University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy, 1978

Bachelor's

Kalamazoo College, 1982

Graduate

University of Washington, 1985

Personal
Profession
Business executive
Contact

David Tarnas (Democratic Party) is a member of the Hawaii House of Representatives, representing District 8. He assumed office on November 8, 2022. His current term ends on November 3, 2026.

Tarnas (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Hawaii House of Representatives to represent District 8. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Biography

David Tarnas graduated from the University of Detroit Jesuit High School in 1978. Tarnas earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Kalamazoo College in 1982 and a master's degree in marine affairs from the University of Washington in 1985. His career experience includes working as the president and principal consultant of Marine and Coastal Solutions International, Inc., the director of government affairs of Merica International LLC, and the CEO and board chairman of Phase, Inc. Tarnas has served as the Hawaii County chairman of the Democratic Party of Hawaii and co-founded the Malama Kai Foundation.[1][2]

Committee assignments

Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at:editor@ballotpedia.org.

2023-2024

Tarnas was assigned to the following committees:

2021-2022

Tarnas was assigned to the following committees:

2019-2020

Tarnas was assigned to the following committees:


The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.


Elections

2024

See also: Hawaii House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for Hawaii House of Representatives District 8

Incumbent David Tarnas defeated Monique CobbAdams Perreira in the general election for Hawaii House of Representatives District 8 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of David Tarnas
David Tarnas (D)
 
62.4
 
6,331
Monique CobbAdams Perreira (R)
 
37.6
 
3,822

Total votes: 10,153
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Hawaii House of Representatives District 8

Incumbent David Tarnas advanced from the Democratic primary for Hawaii House of Representatives District 8 on August 10, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of David Tarnas
David Tarnas
 
100.0
 
3,688

Total votes: 3,688
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Hawaii House of Representatives District 8

Monique CobbAdams Perreira advanced from the Republican primary for Hawaii House of Representatives District 8 on August 10, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Monique CobbAdams Perreira
 
100.0
 
960

Total votes: 960
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Tarnas in this election.

2022

See also: Hawaii House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

General election for Hawaii House of Representatives District 8

Incumbent David Tarnas defeated Monique CobbAdams Perreira in the general election for Hawaii House of Representatives District 8 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of David Tarnas
David Tarnas (D) Candidate Connection
 
69.1
 
5,564
Monique CobbAdams Perreira (R)
 
30.9
 
2,484

Total votes: 8,048
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Hawaii House of Representatives District 8

Incumbent David Tarnas defeated Makai Freitas in the Democratic primary for Hawaii House of Representatives District 8 on August 13, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of David Tarnas
David Tarnas Candidate Connection
 
69.2
 
3,310
Makai Freitas
 
30.8
 
1,470

Total votes: 4,780
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Hawaii House of Representatives District 8

Monique CobbAdams Perreira advanced from the Republican primary for Hawaii House of Representatives District 8 on August 13, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Monique CobbAdams Perreira
 
100.0
 
1,064

Total votes: 1,064
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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2020

See also: Hawaii House of Representatives elections, 2020

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Hawaii House of Representatives District 7

Incumbent David Tarnas won election outright in the Democratic primary for Hawaii House of Representatives District 7 on August 8, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of David Tarnas
David Tarnas
 
100.0
 
4,087

Total votes: 4,087
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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2018

See also: Hawaii House of Representatives elections, 2018

General election

David Tarnas defeated Tom Belekanich in the general election for Hawaii House of Representatives District 7 on November 6, 2018.

General election
General election for Hawaii House of Representatives District 7

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of David Tarnas
David Tarnas (D) Candidate Connection
 
76.9
 
6,584
Tom Belekanich (R) Candidate Connection
 
23.1
 
1,974

Total votes: 8,558
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

David Tarnas defeated incumbent Cindy Evans in the Democratic primary for Hawaii House of Representatives District 7 on August 11, 2018.

Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Hawaii House of Representatives District 7

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of David Tarnas
David Tarnas Candidate Connection
 
53.7
 
2,904
Image of Cindy Evans
Cindy Evans
 
46.3
 
2,505

Total votes: 5,409
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Tom Belekanich advanced from the Republican primary for Hawaii House of Representatives District 7 on August 11, 2018.

Republican primary election
Republican primary for Hawaii House of Representatives District 7

Candidate
%
Votes
Tom Belekanich Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
713

Total votes: 713
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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2016

See also: Hawaii House of Representatives elections, 2016

Elections for the Hawaii House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on August 13, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was June 7, 2016.

Incumbent Cindy Evans defeated Jeffrey Coakley in the Hawaii House of Representatives District 7 general election.[3]

Hawaii House of Representatives, District 7 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Cindy Evans Incumbent 62.36% 5,934
     Republican Jeffrey Coakley 37.64% 3,581
Total Votes 9,515
Source: State of Hawaii - Office of Elections


Incumbent Cindy Evans defeated David Tarnas in the Hawaii House of Representatives District 7 Democratic primary.[4][5]

Hawaii House of Representatives, District 7 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Cindy Evans Incumbent 52.11% 2,232
     Democratic David Tarnas 47.89% 2,051
Total Votes 4,283


Jeffrey Coakley ran unopposed in the Hawaii House of Representatives District 7 Republican primary.[4][5]

Hawaii House of Representatives, District 7 Republican Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Republican Green check mark transparent.png Jeffrey Coakley  (unopposed)


Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

David Tarnas did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Candidate Connection

David Tarnas completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Tarnas' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

David Tarnas is in his fourth term as the Hawai'i State Representative for North and South Kohala Districts, and North Kona (1994-1998, 2018-2022). He has served as the Chair of the House Committee on Ocean Recreation and Marine Resources and Chair of the House Committee on Water and Land. In addition to being a veteran legislator, Tarnas has also spent over 20 years working as an environmental and community planning consultant for public and private sector projects in Hawai'i relating to residential and commercial developments, small boat harbors, commercial harbors, highways, scientific installations, coastal parks and marine managed areas, ocean recreation, agriculture, forestry, watershed management, water resources and land use, endangered species, renewable energy production, education, and health policy. Tarnas previously served as the West Hawai'i Extension Agent for the University of Hawai'i Sea Grant Extension Service, tasked with resolving conflicts resulting from coastal development. Tarnas is a former member of the Community Advisory Group for the U.S. Army Garrison Hawai‘i Pohakuloa, former member of the Hawai‘i County Agriculture Advisory Commission, and former Hawai‘i County Chairman for the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i. He is a current member of the Waimea Community Association and Waikoloa Community Leadership Council.

  • I am running for state office to serve the community where my wife Carolyn and I have worked and raised our two children, who are now pursuing their own careers. My experience as a parent, an owner of a small business and a public servant provides me a unique perspective on how things work and don't work in our state. My 36-year career in Hawaiʻi as a planner and legislator demonstrates a solid track record of resolving conflicts related to land use, natural resources, ecosystem protection, community health, and education. I am thoughtful, diligent, and work collaboratively with stakeholders as we work to resolve difficult and complex policy issues. I am asking for your vote to return to the legislature and continue this important work.
  • The biggest issue in my district is the rising cost of living. I have been consistent in my support for legislation to reduce the cost of living by addressing taxes, wages, and the costs of housing, healthcare, childcare, and elder care. This past session, I worked with the legislature to make the Earned Income Tax Credit permanent and refundable; provide tax rebates of up to $300 per resident; increase the minimum wage; appropriate $300 million to build rental housing and $45 million to develop infrastructure for affordable housing; increase funding rental assistance; provide $15 million to temporary shelter, transitional housing and services for the homeless; and prohibit discrimination against those using Section 8 housing vouchers.
  • I will also continue to work hard in the legislature to address the rising cost of healthcare, childcare and elder care. This past session, we were successful in passing bills to address healthcare provider shortages in rural areas by increasing residency and training opportunities and providing loan repayment assistance to doctors working in rural areas; expand reimbursements for telemedicine services; appropriate $200 million to develop and expand preschool facilities statewide; increase funding for the Kupuna Care Program and the Aging and Disability Resource Centers in each county; and fund adult dental benefits for all Medicaid patients. I am asking for your support to return to the legislature to continue this important work.

As Chair of the House Water and Land Committee, I work specifically on policies, programs and appropriations relating to managing water, public lands, watersheds, forests, wildlife, coastal areas, parks, harbors, coral reefs and all marine resources. With travel restrictions during the pandemic, residents enjoyed beaches, parks, oceans, and hiking trails without visitors. It became clear there were too many visitors and the environmental quality of our special places was suffering from overuse. As we rebuild our tourism economy, we must protect our environment by limiting the number of visitors using these sites and by charging visitors user fees to help pay for environmental protection and resource management in these sites. That's why I led the effort in the legislature to establish the Ocean Stewardship fee that every ocean recreation customer will pay for marine resource management and conservation programs. I support legislation to establish "green fees" for visitors who use any public trust resource, such as beaches, trails and state lands, to help pay for resource management and conservation programs on state lands. We need to increase efforts to educate our visitors about how to treat our environment and our community in respectful and low-impact ways so we can maintain environmental quality and our quality of life. I also support expanding other industries including astronomy, ocean science and technology, forestry, agriculture, and knowledge-based industries.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.



2020

David Tarnas did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2018

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

David Tarnas completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Tarnas' responses.

What would be your top three priorities, if elected?

My top three priorities, if elected, will be to advocate for policies and programs to support sustainable economic development, support protection of environmental quality, and facilitate public involvement in the legislative process. I would advocate for legislation that supports economic development to provide meaningful employment and a healthy quality of life for local community members. This legislation would be aimed to help small business be successful and strengthen the island's core industries of agriculture, tourism, ocean recreation, astronomy, and construction. I would advocate for other legislation that to help diversify the island economy with new and emerging knowledge-based industries and resource-based industries, including renewable energy, marine biotechnology, ocean science and technology, space technology, and environmental technology. And I would support legislation to strengthen public education and workforce training offering lifelong learning for the community. Regarding environmental protection, I would advocate for legislation to address the significant threats resulting from global climate change, sea level rise, overfishing, unmanaged land development, loss of watersheds, and spread of invasive species. This legislation would include providing incentives for people to convert from cesspools to improved wastewater treatment systems in coastal areas, requiring realtors to disclose the risk of sea level rise to prospective buyers of coastal properties, and urging Congress to change the National Flood Insurance Program to reduce incentives to rebuild property damaged by flooding and storms in vulnerable coastal areas. I would support other legislation that would include establishing a statewide system of marine protected areas, protecting uhu and other herbivorous fish, and better managing near-shore recreational and commercial fishing; improving soil erosion control to reduce coastal runoff into near-shore coral reef ecosystems; increasing protection of watersheds to reduce runoff and loss of habitat; and increasing efforts to detect and prevent the spread of invasive species. My legislative office and I would facilitate public engagement in the legislative process by maintaining close communication with constituents through programs to inform the public and enable community members to provide input to the legislature. This would include supporting funding and rule changes to make regular updates to the legislative website, provide more live-streaming of committee hearings, allow video testimony from neighbor island sites, and provide more updates on various social media platforms. As a legislator, I would arrange well-publicized town meetings during the recess periods in the legislature, as well as during the interim period. I would have frequent "Talk Story with Rep. Tarnas" pop-up venues in the community along the road-side and at community events and shopping centers, State offices, and community centers. I would request to have access to a State office or meeting room in the district for constituent meetings. In addition, I would send out regular e-newsletters to constituents, post printed copies in local libraries and community centers, conduct telephone and online town-hall meetings and maintain a regular and engaged social media presence during legislative session and during the interim.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

My top three priorities, if elected, will be to advocate for policies and programs to support sustainable economic development, support protection of environmental quality, and facilitate public involvement in the legislative process. These are areas of public policy reform about which I am particularly passionate.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

The characteristics and principles that are most important for an elected office include being a Servant Leader; Honest; Accountable; Able to Work in the Public Interest; Knowledgeable about Many Subjects; Persistent.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

The qualities I possess that I believe would make me a successful State Representative include: Hardworking; Responsible; Studious; Knowledgeable about many subjects; Experienced facilitator; Successful at resolving disputes; Easy to work with; Courteously persistent; Owner of a small business; 32-year resident; Married for 25 years with two children.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

The core responsibilities for the State Representative job are to: Pass legislation to improve public policy in the public interest; Pass a State Budget allocating money for programs that are in the public interest; Advocate for the interest of the people, places, and nature of House District 7; Upon request, assist District 7 constituents in any dealings with State agencies .

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2016

Tarnas' campaign website highlighted the following issues:

  • A productive, safe and healthy community is central to a sustainable life for the people of Hawai'i island. Community health rests on a clean environment, a strong public education system, a sustainable economy, equal rights for all, and a strong code of ethics with a commitment to treat everyone and the environment with respect.
  • State government has a major role in promoting civil society and community health programs in many ways, including supporting a sustainable state hospital system, in-patient and out-patient mental health care system, alcohol and drug rehabilitation services, and community health education outreach programs.
  • The State must also take the lead to work with the federal government and the private sector to implement the Natural Disaster Economic Recovery Strategy so we can better prepare our community to recover after a natural disaster, like a hurricane, earthquake, or tsunami.
  • As a state legislator, I will work for the community and commit to being answerable to the community for my decisions. I will share with you information about your state legislature through an active outreach program to the constituents and community. I work for you.[6]
—David Tarnas, [7]

Campaign finance summary


Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.


David Tarnas campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024* Hawaii House of Representatives District 8Won general$48,475 $29,414
2022Hawaii House of Representatives District 8Won general$37,440 $14,117
2020Hawaii House of Representatives District 7Won primary$36,215 N/A**
2018Hawaii House of Representatives District 7Won general$56,366 N/A**
Grand total$178,496 $43,531
Sources: OpenSecretsFederal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Hawaii

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states.  To contribute to the list of Hawaii scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.


2024


2023


2022


2021


2020


2019






See also


External links

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by
Troy Hashimoto (D)
Hawaii House of Representatives District 8
2022-Present
Succeeded by
-
Preceded by
-
Hawaii House of Representatives District 7
2018-2022
Succeeded by
Nicole Lowen (D)


Current members of the Hawaii House of Representatives
Leadership
Speaker of the House:Nadine Nakamura
Majority Leader:Sean Quinlan
Minority Leader:Lauren Matsumoto
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
District 18
Gene Ward (R)
District 19
District 20
District 21
District 22
District 23
District 24
District 25
District 26
District 27
District 28
District 29
District 30
District 31
District 32
District 33
Sam Kong (D)
District 34
District 35
Cory Chun (D)
District 36
District 37
District 38
District 39
District 40
District 41
District 42
District 43
District 44
District 45
District 46
District 47
District 48
District 49
District 50
District 51
Democratic Party (42)
Republican Party (9)