Aloha! My name is David Tarnas, your State House of Representative for District 8 (North & South Kohala). Please vote to re-elect me in the August 2024 Primary Election and November 2024 General Election so that I can continue to serve as your State Representative for North & South Kohala.
This district has been my home for over thirty years, and it is where my wife and I have run our own business and raised our family. In my professional career, I have worked in both the public and private sectors. I was elected and served as State Representative for North Kona and South Kohala from 1994 to 1998, working in leadership positions including Vice-Chair of Education Committee and Chair of the Ocean Recreation and Marine Resources Committee. I was elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2020 and 2022 and now serve as the State Representative for House District 8 (N&S Kohala).
I just completed my fifth term in public office and currently serve as the Chair of the House Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs. In previous sessions, I served as past Chair of the Committee on Water and Land, and past Chair of the Committee on Ocean Recreation and Marine Resources. This broad range of experience allows me to serve effectively as our district’s State Representative.
Through the planning firm I started with my wife Carolyn Stewart, I have been responsible for managing development of private residential and commercial projects in environmentally sensitive areas, including planning, impact analysis, permitting, compliance monitoring, reporting, government and community relations.
For decades, I have served as an environmental planner and meeting facilitator on projects to develop harbors, highways, farms, ranches, fishponds, and forest plantations, as well as scientific research facilities and renewable energy projects in Hawai'i. I am co-author of the Hawaii Ocean Resources Management Plan (1990); co-founding board member of the Malama Kai Foundation responsible for the statewide system of day-use mooring buoys in coral reefs; former UH Sea Grant Extension Agent for West Hawaii resolving conflict resulting from coastal development; and legislative sponsor of Act 306, which created the West Hawaii Regional Fishery Management Area. I formerly served on the Hawaii County Agriculture Advisory Commission, and the Community Advisory Group for the U.S. Army Garrison - Hawaii Pohakuloa Training Area.
Throughout the State, I have worked as a strategic planner helping corporations, government agencies, nongovernmental organizations and stakeholder partnerships prepare and implement strategic plans for development and operations.
In many communities on our island, I have worked as a community organizer building local capacity for a sustainable community, including work with numerous nonprofit community and environmental health organizations. I also served as Hawaii County Chairman for the Democratic Party of Hawaii from 2013-2015. For more information on my professional work, please go to my LinkedIn page.
My wife Carolyn and I raised our family in Waimea. To support our kids, I was active in helping with the local AYSO Soccer Teams, Academy Swim Club, Waimea Community Theater, and Parker School theater and debate teams. And I continue my community support through endeavors and organizations like the Waimea Greenways and Trails project and the Waimea Community Association. I have been able to express my passion for music by playing the flute for the Waimea Community Theater, Waimea Community Chorus Orchestra, St. James' Episcopal Church, and the Hulihe'e Palace Band through the years.
It is an honor to serve our community as the State Representative for North and South Kohala. I am grateful for this opportunity and ask for your vote to re-elect me to represent you in the upcoming legislative session. Your voice matters, so I am always glad to hear from you with concerns, questions and suggestions. Please vote for David Tarnas for State Representative. Mahalo!
This district has been my home for over thirty years, and it is where my wife and I have run our own business and raised our family. In my professional career, I have worked in both the public and private sectors. I was elected and served as State Representative for North Kona and South Kohala from 1994 to 1998, working in leadership positions including Vice-Chair of Education Committee and Chair of the Ocean Recreation and Marine Resources Committee. I was elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2020 and 2022 and now serve as the State Representative for House District 8 (N&S Kohala).
I just completed my fifth term in public office and currently serve as the Chair of the House Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs. In previous sessions, I served as past Chair of the Committee on Water and Land, and past Chair of the Committee on Ocean Recreation and Marine Resources. This broad range of experience allows me to serve effectively as our district’s State Representative.
Through the planning firm I started with my wife Carolyn Stewart, I have been responsible for managing development of private residential and commercial projects in environmentally sensitive areas, including planning, impact analysis, permitting, compliance monitoring, reporting, government and community relations.
For decades, I have served as an environmental planner and meeting facilitator on projects to develop harbors, highways, farms, ranches, fishponds, and forest plantations, as well as scientific research facilities and renewable energy projects in Hawai'i. I am co-author of the Hawaii Ocean Resources Management Plan (1990); co-founding board member of the Malama Kai Foundation responsible for the statewide system of day-use mooring buoys in coral reefs; former UH Sea Grant Extension Agent for West Hawaii resolving conflict resulting from coastal development; and legislative sponsor of Act 306, which created the West Hawaii Regional Fishery Management Area. I formerly served on the Hawaii County Agriculture Advisory Commission, and the Community Advisory Group for the U.S. Army Garrison - Hawaii Pohakuloa Training Area.
Throughout the State, I have worked as a strategic planner helping corporations, government agencies, nongovernmental organizations and stakeholder partnerships prepare and implement strategic plans for development and operations.
In many communities on our island, I have worked as a community organizer building local capacity for a sustainable community, including work with numerous nonprofit community and environmental health organizations. I also served as Hawaii County Chairman for the Democratic Party of Hawaii from 2013-2015. For more information on my professional work, please go to my LinkedIn page.
My wife Carolyn and I raised our family in Waimea. To support our kids, I was active in helping with the local AYSO Soccer Teams, Academy Swim Club, Waimea Community Theater, and Parker School theater and debate teams. And I continue my community support through endeavors and organizations like the Waimea Greenways and Trails project and the Waimea Community Association. I have been able to express my passion for music by playing the flute for the Waimea Community Theater, Waimea Community Chorus Orchestra, St. James' Episcopal Church, and the Hulihe'e Palace Band through the years.
It is an honor to serve our community as the State Representative for North and South Kohala. I am grateful for this opportunity and ask for your vote to re-elect me to represent you in the upcoming legislative session. Your voice matters, so I am always glad to hear from you with concerns, questions and suggestions. Please vote for David Tarnas for State Representative. Mahalo!
