Patricia Hatsue Saiki died Sept. 30 in Honolulu. She was 96. Born in Hilo, Hawaii, on May 28, 1930, the Nisei’s political career included serving in the state’s upper and lower chambers of its Legislature and as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1987-91, becoming the state’s first Republican woman elected to that body.
Prior to launching her political career in 1968, when she was elected to the Hawaii State House of Representatives where she served until 1974, Saiki used her 1952 bachelor’s degree in education from University of Hawaii at Manoa and found work as a teacher at Punahou School, Kaimuki Intermediate School and Kalani High School. When her husband, Stanley Saiki, MD, moved to Ohio for his medical school residency, she taught in Toledo. Together, the Saiki’s were parents to five children.
Before transitioning to politics, as a teacher she helped unionize her colleagues with the formation of the Teachers’ Chapter of the Hawaii Government Employees Assn., becoming its chair, serving on the HGEA board of directors and serving as the teachers’ spokesperson at the state Legislature.
Her commitment to education extended to her service as a state senator from 1974-82, where she chaired the state’s Senate Education Committee and approved funding to establish Kapiolani Community College. That same year, after she made an unsuccessful run for lieutenant governor, she became the state’s Republican Party chairperson, reprising that role in 2014-15.
As a Republican, Saiki was seen as a fiscally conservative but socially liberal politician who was pro-choice on abortion and supportive toward gay rights. Her support of redress for Japanese Americans who were incarcerated by the U.S. government during World War II helped persuade fellow Republicans to back a federal apology and $20,000 in reparation money to surviving incarcerees. Two years later, she ran unsuccessfully against Daniel Akaka for the U.S. Senate seat of Spark Matsunaga after his death. Subsequent to this, President George W. Bush tapped her to serve as the Small Business Administration administrator of 1991-93.
Pat Saiki was predeceased by her husband and eldest son, Stanley Saiki Jr. She is survived by her four children: Sandra Saiki, Margaret Saiki, Stuart Saiki and Laurie Saiki, and grandchildren.