Quick Facts
Biography
David Tarnas is an American politician who is currently the Hawaii state representative in Hawaii's 7th district. Tarnas first served as the State Representative for Kohala and Kona from 1994-1998. After a 20 year break from politics, he won the 7th district seat by defeating incumbent Democrat Cindy Evans in a primary election, going on to win the general election. He previously ran in a primary against Evans for the same seat in 2016, losing that primary 52.1% to 47.9%. He has since won the Democratic primary and general elections in 2020 and 2022, chairing the Water, Land & Hawaiian Affairs Committee from 2021-2022.and the Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs Committee in 2023.
Tarnas holds a master's degree in marine affairs from the University of Washington (1985) and a bachelor's degree in political science from Kalamazoo College (1982).
Tenure
Tarnas opposes term limits for state legislators "singlehandedly torpedo[ing]" one of the proposals of the House Commission to Improve Standards of Conduct.