Pat Saiki

Pat Saiki
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	May 28, 1930 (1930-05-28) Hilo, Hawaii
Political party	Republican

Patricia Fukuda "Pat" Saiki (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.

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 college, Saiki became a teacher and later a business executive.

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 K. 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.^{[citation needed]} Saiki subsequently chaired the Hawaii Presidential campaign of former New York Mayor Rudy Guiliani in 2008 and the 2010 congressional campaign of Charles Djou.

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. 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

Notes

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post

External links

• Honolulu Star-Bulletin, November 10, 2002 interview.

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Neil Abercrombie	U.S. Representative of Hawaii's 1st Congressional District January 3, 1987–January 2, 1991	Succeeded by Neil Abercrombie
Government offices
Preceded by Susan Engeleiter	Administrator, U.S. Small Business Administration 1991–1993	Succeeded by Erskine Bowles