Patricia Hatsue Saiki (née Fukuda; born May 28, 1930) is an American politician and former school teacher from Hilo in the State of Hawai'i. She served as a Republican in Congress from 1987 to 1991 and then as Administrator of the Small Business Administration under President of the United States George H. W. Bush.
Video Pat Saiki
Early life
Saiki, a Japanese American, graduated from Hilo High School in 1948 and received her bachelor's degree from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa in 1952. Upon graduating from college, Saiki became a teacher and later a business executive.
Maps Pat Saiki
Political career
In 1968, Saiki joined the Hawai`i Republican Party and ran successfully for a seat in the Hawai`i State House of Representatives. In 1974, she moved to the Hawai`i State Senate where she served her district until 1982. A vacancy was created by U.S. Rep. Cecil Heftel's untimely leave from Congress, and on September 20, 1986 a special election was held. Saiki lost the special election (to Democrat Neil Abercrombie) but won a separate election (over Democrat Mufi Hannemann) sending her to Congress where she served two consecutive terms. In 1988, she beat challenger Mary Bitterman, a Democrat and former head of Voice of America.
Until the election of Charles Djou on May 22, 2010, Saiki was the only Republican to ever hold a House seat from the state of Hawai`i and one of only two Republican Members of Congress (the other being Senator Hiram Fong) to represent the state since it gained statehood. She is also the second woman to be elected to Congress from the state of Hawai`i (the first being Patsy Mink, with whom Saiki served with for two years).
In 1990, she lost a United States Senate race to Daniel Akaka, then was appointed Administrator of the Small Business Administration under President George Herbert Walker Bush. In 1994, she lost a race for Governor of Hawai'i against Democratic challenger Benjamin J. Cayetano. She attributes her loss in 1994 to the third-party candidacy of maverick Mayor of Honolulu Frank F. Fasi. Saiki placed third in the race behind Fasi.
Saiki subsequently chaired the Hawaii Presidential campaign of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani in 2008 and the 2010 and 2012 congressional campaigns of Charles Djou.
Statewide Electoral History
Title IX
Pat Saiki's role in the implementation of Title IX in the state of Hawaii is covered in the documentary film Rise of the Wahine, directed by Dean Kaneshiro.
See also
- Women in the United States House of Representatives
- List of Asian Americans and Pacific Islands Americans in the United States Congress
References
Sources
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Appearances on C-SPAN
External links
- Honolulu Star-Bulletin, November 10, 2002 interview.
- Rise of the Wahine Documentary Film, directed by Dean Kaneshiro.
Source of article : Wikipedia
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