Flags ordered lowered to honor life, service of former lawmaker Patricia Saiki
Hawai‘i Gov. Josh Green ordered the United States flag and Hawaiʻi state flag be lowered at sunrise Oct. 2 and flown at half-staff at the Hawaiʻi Capitol, all state offices and agencies as well as all Hawaiʻi National Guard facilities in honor of former state lawmaker, U.S. Small Business Administration administrator and U.S. Rep. Patricia Saiki.
She died Sept. 30 at the age of 96 years old.
Flags shall be flown at half-staff through sunrise Oct. 5.
Saiki in 1986 became the first Republican and second woman elected to represent Hawaiʻi in U.S. Congress.
She served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, where she played a key role in passing legislation to authorize financial reparations for Japanese Americans and Japanese immigrants who were detained in federal government internment camps during World War II.
Her support for women’s reproductive freedoms set her apart from the majority of GOP members, then and now.
In the early days of her political career, she is credited with forming the state’s first collective bargaining union for teachers — Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association. Saiki also worked as a researcher for Hawaiʻi Senate Republicans and served roles in the state Republican Party in the mid-1960s, attended the 1968 Constitutional Convention. It was that year she won election to Hawaiʻi House of Representatives.
She served in the state House for 6 years, followed in 1974 by election to state Senate.
She left the Senate in 1982 for an unsuccessful run for lieutenant governor and later became chairperson of the Hawaiʻi Republican Party, overseeing a three-fold increase in membership rolls.
President George Bush appointed her to the lead role in the U.S. Small Business Administration, where she served until 1993, when she taught at Harvard University’s Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Patricia Fukuda Saiki was born in Hilo and graduated from Hilo High School and University of Hawaiʻi. She became a teacher at Punahou School, Kaimukī Intermediate School and Kalani High School, all on O‘ahu, before entering politics.
Survivors include her 4 children Stuart Saiki, Sandra Saiki, Margaret Saiki and Laurie Saiki and grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband Stanley Masami Saiki and their son Stanley Mitsuo Saiki.
“Pat Saiki’s six decades of public service and her pioneering example for young women and Asian Americans in Hawaiʻi and across the [United States], combine to form a lasting, inspiring legacy and a high bar for all of us who serve the public,” said Green. “Jaime and I extend our deepest aloha and sympathy to the Saiki family, with heartfelt gratitude for the sacrifices made so she could help so many people.”
Services are pending and will be announced by the family.
