Gov. David Ige has tapped the Department of Taxation’s Deputy Director Damien A. Elefante to serve as DoTax acting director.
Elefante has served as deputy director of DoTax since August 2016. He is also an employer trustee, serving in a fiduciary capacity with the Hawai‘i – Union Health Benefits Trust Fund and as an arbitrator with the Court Annexed Arbitration Program.
Elefante was also recently confirmed by the Hawai‘i State Senate to serve as chairperson on the Labor and Industrial Relations Appeals Board.
Previously, Elefante was a compliance coordinator with DoTax, and deputy attorney general with the Department of the Attorney General, Tax Division, from Nov. 2001 to Oct. 2015.
Elefante has also worked as an attorney in private practice and served as a judicial law clerk to Chief Judge James S. Burns, Intermediate Court of Appeals.
A graduate of Kailua High School, Elefante earned his B.A. in political science from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, and his Juris Doctor from Syracuse University College of Law, Syracuse, New York.
Elefante will serve as acting director until the position is permanently filled or until 60 days from July 10, 2020, whichever occurs first.