Pat Saiki

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.

Pat Saiki
Chair of the Hawaii Republican Party
In office March 19, 2014 – June 8, 2015
Preceded by	David S. Chang
Succeeded by	Fritz Rohlfing
17th Administrator of the Small Business Administration
In office April 16, 1991 – January 20, 1993
President	George H. W. Bush
Preceded by	Paul Cooksey (acting)
Succeeded by	Erskine Bowles (acting)
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Hawaii's 1st district
In office January 3, 1987 – January 3, 1991
Preceded by	Neil Abercrombie
Succeeded by	Neil Abercrombie
Personal details
Born	Patricia Hatsue Fukuda (1930-05-28) May 28, 1930 Hilo, Hawaii, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Stanley Saiki
Children	5
Education	University of Hawaii, Manoa (BS)

Early life

Saiki was born in Hilo, Hawai`i, on May 28, 1930. Saiki 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 at Punahou, Kaimuki Intermediate, and Kalani High schools. She also taught in Toledo, Ohio, when she and her husband, Stanley Saiki, moved there for his medical school residency.[1]

Saiki ran for office after establishing the teacher's chapter of the Hawaii Government Employees Association. Her fellow teachers encouraged her to run for office, which she did in 1968.[2]

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.[3] 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. With her election in 1986, she became the first Republican elected to represent Hawaii in the House of Representatives since its statehood.[4] In 1988, she beat challenger Mary Bitterman, a Democrat and former head of Voice of America.[5]

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 Hawaii and one of only two Republican Members of Congress (the other being Senator Hiram Fong) to represent the state since it gained statehood.[6] 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).[7]

While in office, Saiki focused on education-related issues. She was a commissioner for the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education, and was a member of the Fund for the Improvement of Higher Education.[3] Though fiscally conservative, she also pushed for the redress of Japanese Americans for their internment during World War II.[5]

In 1990, she lost a United States Senate race to Daniel Akaka, then was appointed Administrator of the Small Business Administration under President George H. W. Bush. In 1994, she lost a race for Governor of Hawai'i against Democratic challenger Ben Cayetano. 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. In 2015 she was the chair of the Hawaii Republican Party.[2]

Statewide Electoral History

Hawaii U.S. House of Representatives District 1 Election 1986

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Republican	Pat Saiki	99,683	59.2
	Democratic	Mufi Hannemann	63,061	37.45
	Libertarian	Blase Harris	5,633	3.35

Hawaii U.S. House of Representatives District 1 Election 1988

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Republican	Pat Saiki	96,848	54.71
	Democratic	Mary Bitterman	76,394	43.16
	Libertarian	Blase Harris	3,778	2.13

Hawaii U.S. Senate Election 1990

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Dan Akaka (incumbent)	188,901	54.02
	Republican	Pat Saiki	155,978	44.61
	Libertarian	Ken Schoolland	4,787	1.37

Hawaii Gubernatorial Election 1994

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Ben Cayetano	134,978	36.58
	Independent	Frank Fasi	113,158	30.67
	Republican	Pat Saiki	107,908	29.24
	Green	Kioni Dudley	12,969	3.51

See also

• Women in the United States House of Representatives
• List of Asian Americans and Pacific Islands Americans in the United States Congress

References

1. "Patricia Saiki | Densho Encyclopedia". encyclopedia.densho.org. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
2. Farinas, Jamie Kim (February 4, 2015). "Pat Saiki". MidWeek. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
3. Japanese American history : an A-to-Z reference from 1868 to the present. Niiya, Brian., Japanese American National Museum (Los Angeles, Calif.). New York: Facts on File. 1993. ISBN 0816026807. OCLC 26853950.CS1 maint: others (link)
4. Doris Weatherford (January 20, 2012). Women in American Politics: History and Milestones. SAGE. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-60871-007-2.
   Congressional Quarterly, inc (June 1, 1989). Congressional Quarterly's politics in America: 1990, the 101st Congress. Congressional Quarterly. pp. 390–391. ISBN 978-0-87187-508-2.
   Eur (2002). The Far East and Australasia 2003. Psychology Press. p. 1118. ISBN 978-1-85743-133-9.<
5. "SAIKI, Patricia | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives". history.house.gov. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
6. "Republicans Win Seat in Democratic Stronghold". Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved August 10, 2017.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
7. Kowalewski, Albin (2018). Asian and Pacific Islander Americans in Congress, 1900-2017. Washington, DC. p. 451. ISBN 9780160943560. OCLC 1019833174.

Sources

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Appearances on C-SPAN

External links

• Honolulu Star-Bulletin, November 10, 2002 interview.
• Patsy F. Saiki Congressional Papers Archival collection

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Neil Abercrombie	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Hawaii's 1st congressional district 1987–1991	Succeeded by Neil Abercrombie
Party political offices
Preceded by Maria Hustace	Republican nominee for U.S. Senator from Hawaii (Class 1) 1990	Succeeded by Maria Hustace
Preceded by Fred Hemmings	Republican nominee for Governor of Hawaii 1994	Succeeded by Linda Lingle
Preceded by David S. Chang	Chair of the Hawaii Republican Party 2014–2015	Succeeded by Fritz Rohlfing
Political offices
Preceded by Paul Cooksey Acting	Administrator of the Small Business Administration 1991–1993	Succeeded by Dayton Watkins Acting