Patricia Saiki 1930–
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H former members 1957–1992 H Patricia Saiki 1930– UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE 1987–1991 REPUBLICAN FROM HAWAII atricia Saiki’s revitalization of the Hawaiian as party chair. Her hand in reviving the Republican Party Republican Party propelled her to election as in the strongly Democratic state aided President Ronald the state’s first GOP Representative since 1959, Reagan’s victory there in the 1984 presidential election (the Pwhen it entered the Union. As a Member of Congress, only previous Republican presidential candidate to carry Saiki focused on economic and environmental legislation the state was Richard Nixon in 1972) and the election of important to her Honolulu constituency as well as the Democrat-turned-Republican Frank Fasi as Honolulu mayor. international Asian community. In 1990 Saiki left the After spending nearly two decades in state politics, House to campaign for a Senate seat in a race that many Saiki decided to run for the U.S. House seat vacated in political observers believed might signal a shift in the July 1986 by five-term Democrat Cecil Heftel, who left balance of political power in Hawaii. “Before Pat Saiki was to run for governor. As the state’s population center, the elected to Congress, it was hard for us to relate to young district encompassed Honolulu, its suburbs, and the Pearl people and tell them, ‘It’s great to be a Republican,’ ” noted Harbor naval base (Hawaii’s only other congressional a Hawaiian GOP member. “Now we can begin to spin district included the rest of Oahu and the other islands). the tale that will make people interested in supporting the Tourism and commercial shipping were the lifeblood Republican Party in Hawaii.”1 for the cosmopolitan population of Caucasians, Asian Patricia Fukuda was born to Kazuo and Shizue Fukuda Americans, and Native Hawaiians, most of whom were on May 28, 1930, in Hilo, on the big island of Hawaii. registered Democrats. The potential for influence in She graduated from Hilo High School in 1948 and Washington as well as the war on drugs were the major received a bachelor of science degree from the University issues leading up to the September special election to fill of Hawaii at Manoa in 1952. In 1954 she married Stanley the remaining four months of Heftel’s term in the 99th Saiki, an obstetrician, and they had five children : Stanley, Congress (1985–1987). Liberal Democratic state senator Stuart, Sandra, Margaret, and Laura. Patricia Saiki taught Neil Abercrombie was the early favorite ; however, a third history in Hawaii’s public and private schools for 12 years. candidate, Democrat Mufi Hannemann, a 32-year-old Her path to politics began with her work as a union corporate lobbyist and former White House fellow, entered organizer and research assistant to Hawaii senate the race, siphoning off a portion of the liberal vote. Saiki Republicans. In the mid-1960s, Saiki served as the certainly benefited from the Democratic intraparty warfare secretary and then the vice chair of the state Republican but she was unable to best Abercrombie in the September Party. She attended the state constitutional convention in 20 special election. He prevailed over Saiki by fewer than 1968, and that year won election to the Hawaii house of 1,000 votes, 30 to 29 percent ; Hannemann trailed by representatives, where she served for six years. In 1974 Saiki about 2,200 votes (28 percent). On the same day, Saiki won election to the state senate, where she served until 1982. won the Republican primary to run for a full term in the In 1982 Saiki left the legislature and made an unsuccessful 100th Congress (1987–1989), while Abercrombie and bid for lieutenant governor. She subsequently oversaw a Hannemann battled for the Democratic nomination for three-fold expansion in party membership and helped the the full term. As the two Democrats faced off in the closed party raise $800,000 during her two-and-a-half-year tenure primary, several thousand Saiki supporters temporarily 424 H ASIAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER AMERICANS IN CONGRESS Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives 42940_07-APA-MP2.indd 424 2/13/2018 11:59:22 AM Patricia Saiki 1930– UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE 1987–1991 REPUBLICAN FROM HAWAII 42940_07-APA-MP2.indd 425 2/13/2018 11:59:25 AM H patricia saiki H registered as Democrats to give Hannemann a narrow win “We’re the ones who experience it. We’re the ones who and instantly reduce Abercrombie to lame-duck status in have to pay for it.”4 the 99th Congress.2 Saiki received seats on the Committee on Banking, In the general election for the 100th Congress, Finance and Urban Affairs, the Committee on Merchant Hannemann had history on his side : ever since the Marine and Fisheries, and the Select Committee on state entered the Union in 1959, Hawaii had sent only Aging. Her seat on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, Democrats to the U.S. House of Representatives. But with assignments on its Oceanography and Fisheries Hannemann also faced several obstacles. First, the Subcommittee, was particularly important to her oceanside acrimony from the primary carried over as Abercrombie constituency. Saiki worked to preserve the islands’ withheld his endorsement. More importantly, Saiki’s natural beauty and unique resources. She attempted to ancestral roots as a Japanese American—one-third persuade the Bush administration to suspend military of the voters shared her ethnic background—helped test bombing on the island of Kahoolawe, situated just her popularity. Saiki won the general election with 59 offshore from Maui. Claimed by U.S. officials in the early percent of the vote, a 33,000-vote advantage ; no previous 1950s, the island nevertheless retained significant cultural Hawaiian Republican candidate for the U.S. House had relevance for Native Hawaiians.5 In 1990 she supported ever polled more than 45 percent of the vote.3 She became an amendment to revise the annual accrual method of the first Republican to represent Hawaii in the House accounting for pineapple and banana growers, whose since Elizabeth Farrington won election as a Territorial longer growth and production cycles distorted their income Delegate in 1954 (Republican Hiram Fong served in statements and exposed them to excess taxation.6 Saiki the U.S. Senate from 1959 to 1977). Two years later, also advocated a ban on environmentally unsound driftnet Saiki ran unopposed in the 1988 Republican primary. In fishing in the Pacific, urging the U.S. Secretary of State to the three-way Democratic primary, Mary Bitterman, a call an international convention to discuss the topic.7 former director of the Voice of America, emerged as the In 1987 Representative Saiki signed on to support H.R. convincing winner ; however, she spent the bulk of her 442, a measure with broad bipartisan support that called campaign funds securing the nomination, leaving her little for monetary reparations and an official apology to the money for the general election. She was not able to dent Japanese Americans who were interned during World War Saiki’s record, and the incumbent won comfortably with a II. Saiki and 62 other Republicans joined 180 Democrats 55 percent majority. to approve the legislation later that year. After the measure Throughout her career, Saiki established a fiscally passed the Senate, Saiki was present when President Reagan conservative voting record on economic issues, in line with signed it into law in 1988. She subsequently pressed most of her GOP colleagues. She also supported much Congress to expedite payouts.8 of the Reagan and George H. W. Bush administrations’ As an Asian American representing a district in the foreign policy programs—voting for aid to the Nicaraguan middle of the Pacific, Saiki also was involved with Pacific Contras, funding for the Strategic Defense Initiative, Rim issues. She served on congressional delegations that and the death penalty for drug-related murders. Where visited Tonga for the birthday of the South Pacific island’s she parted company with many Republicans was on monarch and attended the funeral for the Emperor of her moderate stance on touchstone social issues, chief Japan. In May 1989, several weeks before the Chinese among them reproductive rights. Saiki supported women’s military’s massacre of student protestors in Beijing’s reproductive freedom. “I don’t want to be sexist about this, Tiananmen Square, Saiki introduced a resolution in the but anything that involves a woman’s life or career, it’s very House declaring congressional support for democratic personal, very close to us,” Saiki told the New York Times. rights in the People’s Republic of China. “I have been 426 H ASIAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER AMERICANS IN CONGRESS 42940_07-APA-MP2.indd 426 2/13/2018 11:59:25 AM H patricia saiki H deeply moved by the determination and idealism of the Lieutenant Governor Ben Cayetano.12 Patricia Saiki Chinese students,” she said. “Fighting in a nonviolent way returned to teaching and lives in Honolulu. for what one believes to be true has been a cornerstone of 9 many civil rights movements.” MANUSCRIPT COLLECTION In April 1990, popular, long-serving Hawaii Senator University of Hawaii at Manoa Library, Archives and Manuscripts Spark M. Matsunaga died of cancer. Urged by her friend Department, Hawaii Congressional Papers Collection (Honolulu, President Bush, Saiki entered the election to fill the islands’ HI). Papers : circa 1970–2006, 18.5 linear feet. The papers primarily vacant seat. “Hawaii needs a Senator who can make the document Patricia Saiki’s tenure as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives. A small portion of the collection concerns her service people on Pennsylvania Avenue and Constitution Avenue in the Hawaii state house and the Hawaii state senate.