David Tarnas

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]

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

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.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

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.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

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.

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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 .

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]