Adrian K. Tam was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. He is the son of hard working immigrant parents from Hong Kong and Taiwan who fled with their families from hardships in their home countries in search for a better life in the United States. Adrian spent his formative years in Liliha living in low-income housing provided by EAH Housing. His father was an assistant to a draftsman, and his mother was a saleswoman at Maui Divers. His family went on to open Central Pacific Properties Inc., a local small real estate firm focused on serving first-time buyers and people facing language barriers in Hawaii.
Adrian attended MaeMae Elementary School and Hongwanji Mission School before returning to public school and graduating from Kalani High School. Adrian played on the tennis and solf tennis team, but made the decision to forgo sports in order to start working multiple jobs in the food service industry to save up for college. In 2011, he was accepted to Penn State University where he continued to work his way through college and studied history. While at Penn State Adrian wrote numerous papers and studied indepthly into United States antitrust, poverty movements, multinational corporation history, and banking history.
In 2015, Adrian graduated from Penn State University with a degree in History. After graduation, Adrian decided to move back to Hawaii and worked for his family’s small business. In October of 2015, he was licensed to practice real estate and was then put in charge of marketing and branding for Central Pacific Properties LLC.
In January of 2016, Adrian was hired by Speaker Emeritus Calvin Say to work as his legislative assistant working on multiple pieces of legislation. Following the 2016 legislative session, Adrian worked on the State Senate campaign for Stanley Chang. In 2017, Senator Stanley Chang appointed Adrian as the manager for his legislative office. During Adrian’s tenure with Senator Chang, Adrian worked on multiple pieces of legislation that ultimately became law including: Section 8 insurance programs, the State Youth Commission, and a statewide ban on conversion therapy for minors. Adrian was also involved with crafting multiple pieces of legislation relating to housing, education, public health, homelessness, and public safety.
Adrian has become involved with many community issues including acting as a liaison between the office of Senator Stanley Chang and the Senate District 9 Neighborhood Boards, advocating for helicopter safety regulations, working on the Cool Our Schools Coalition, organizing with the April 13 East Honolulu Floods Relief, and partaking in both the Kalani High School track and field remodeling and Paiko Ridge conservation efforts.
In 2018, Adrian was designated as a member of the Medical Cannabis Outstanding Issues Working Group in the Edibles Permitted Interaction Subcommittee. Members of the working subcommittee were tasked with gathering information about their specific topics, identifying issues, and presenting their findings and recommendations to the Working Group for further consideration for inclusion in a final report to the Legislature.
Adrian has also served multiple capacities for the Hawaii Democratic Party. He is a board member of Young Progressives Demanding Action, a member of the Waikiki Lions Club, and the former vice-president of the Taiwanese American Professionals. Additionally, Adrian has given numerous trainings and presentations to activists and lobbyists on best practices on how to best approach the legislature.
Adrian currently maintains a license to practice real estate in Hawaii.
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On August 8, 2020, Adrian Tam won his election to be the Democratic nominee for House District 22. On November 3, 2020, he was elected to the Hawaii State House of Representatives and took office the next day.
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Since taking office, Representative Tam served as Vice-Chair of the House Committee on Health, Human Services, & Homelessness and the House Committee on Culture, Arts, & International Affairs. He also serves as a member on the House Finance Committee.
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In Tam's first year in office, he has secured over $70,000,000 in Capital Improvement Projects for the neighborhood, and has authored bills on tax transparency and homeless minors. He has also passed resolutions regarding land use, illegal robocalls, and noise pollution. As Vice-Chair of Culture, Arts, and International Affairs, he led the House's response to the Russian Invasion of Ukraine.
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Tam is also a founding member of the House Equality Caucus, that advocates for LGBTQ+ legislation. Tam has also been instrumental in passing bills that help our Kupuna, Keiki, working families, and public safety.
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In the community, Tam organized multiple vaccination clinics (during the COVID-19 pandemic), park clean-ups and town halls to keep the community engaged, informed, and safe.
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In 2022, Tam joined the Board of Directors for the Hawaii Health Harm Reduction Center. Tam joined the board to be a part of the solution to fight drug addiction and homelessness. Tam has given a number of speeches to the American Marketing Association, Hawai`i Association for College Admissions Counseling, the Rotary Club, and many other organizations.
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In July 2022, Tam was inducted into the Hawaii E-Rotary Club as an honorary member because of his commitment to service above self.
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Tam is eager and ready to serve the people of House District 24, and humbly asks for your support.
