Charmaine Tavares

Charmaine Tavares
6th Mayor of Maui
In office January 2, 2007 – January 2, 2011
Preceded by	Alan Arakawa
Succeeded by	Alan Arakawa
Personal details
Born	1943 (age 73–74) Hana, Hawaii, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	University of Hawaii at Manoa
Profession	Teacher, counselor, politician

Charmaine Tavares (born 1943 Hana, Hawaii) is an American politician and teacher. Tavares served as the Mayor of Maui from January 2007 to January 2011. She unsuccessfully sought a second four-year term in office in the 2010 Maui mayoral election.

Tavares was born in 1943 in Hana, Hawaii, in eastern Maui, to Hannibal and Harriet Tavares. Her father, Hannibal Tavares, served as the Mayor of Maui from 1979 until 1991, the longest tenure of any Maui mayor to date. Tavares is the descendant of Japanese and Portuguese immigrants who settled in Hawaii. Her mother, Harriet, is of Japanese descent and her father was of Portuguese descent.

She attended both Kaunoa Elementary School and Maul High School, before graduating from St Anthony High School. Tavares earned a bachelor's degree in education from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 1967. She also received a fifth-year professional diploma in education from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 1970.

Tavares has previously worked in Hawaiian public schools as a teacher, counselor and athletic director from 1967 to 1982. She was also the program director of the Maui Community College (MCC) Upward Bound program from 1983 until 1989.

Tavares served as the director of the Department of Parks and Recreation for Maui County from 1989 to 1995.

Tavares was first elected to the Maui County Council in 1996. She served on the Council, representing the Upcountry Seat, from 1997 until 2006. She was elected to the Maui County Council in five separate elections.

Charmaine Tavares was elected Mayor of Maui in the 2006 mayoral election. She defeated incumbent Mayor Alan Arakawa in the election and was sworn into office on January 2, 2007.

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