Assembly May Gain First Asian-American Since 1978

Fifty years after his internment at a Japanese-American detention camp, Oxnard Mayor Nao Takasugi is poised to become the first Asian-American elected to the Legislature since 1978.

But Takasugi, 70, said he does not see himself as “a representative of Asian-American interests.”

“That would not be a true portrayal of my mission up there,” Takasugi said Wednesday. “I can’t even think of any Asian-American issues before the Legislature.”

Takasugi won a seven-candidate race Tuesday for the Republican nomination in the 37th Assembly District. In November, he is favored to defeat Democrat Roz McGrath in the Ventura County district, where Republicans hold a 47% to 41% advantage in voter registration.

Takasugi is seeking to replace conservative Assemblyman Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks), who on Tuesday won the GOP nomination in the 24th Congressional District.

If he does go to Sacramento, Takasugi will take a reputation as a conciliator skilled at working with diverse interest groups. In his 16 years on the Oxnard City Council, he established strong ties to developers--who donated heavily to his campaigns--and to Latinos, who make up about half of the city’s 142,000 residents.

“He is very quiet, very intelligent and very methodical,” Councilman Manuel Lopez said. “He is the opposite of someone who shoots from the hip.”

In keeping with that image, Takasugi said Wednesday that he has no agenda to push if he wins the Assembly seat.

“I’m a real novice,” he said. “I don’t know how things work up there.” A former grocery store owner with a master’s degree in business administration, Takasugi said he hopes to get committee assignments that would let him use his small-business experience.

As for being an Asian-American leader, Takasugi said he sees himself as a possible role model for other Asian-Americans. And he decried the fact that about one in 10 Californians are of Asian descent, but none currently serve in the Legislature.

But he emphasized that he was born in Oxnard and speaks Spanish better than Japanese, and said his primary job will be to represent his district.

His family’s detention at a Japanese-American internment camp during World War II made him sensitive to discrimination and other issues facing minorities, Takasugi said.

“That experience 50 years ago doesn’t bother me, but it will always remain with me,” he said. “When I go to Sacramento, if I see anything that may be discriminatory based on sex, race or religion, I’m going to be sensitive to that.”