Takasugi Reflects on Journey From Detention Camp to State Assembly

Nao Takasugi sees himself as having come full circle.

Half a century ago, in the wake of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, the federal government confined 112,000 Japanese-Americans, including Takasugi, in detention camps. The events of those years were much on his mind Monday--exactly 51 years after the Dec. 7 bombing thrust the United States into World War II--as Takasugi was sworn in as the first Asian-American in 12 years to serve in the California Legislature.

“Fifty years ago, I was put behind barbed wire,” the 70-year-old Takasugi said shortly after he took the oath of office in the ornate Assembly chamber. Citing the ability to overcome his internment experience and become a successful politician, the former Oxnard mayor told reporters, “This is still the greatest country in the world.”

Takasugi acknowledged that his election is a milestone for Asian-Americans, but he played down the connection, noting that he was elected by a cross-section of voters in his solidly Republican 37th Assembly District, where Asian-Americans make up only 6.5% of the population.

But he added that he has a special responsibility to watch out for the needs of the state’s growing Asian community. Having been interned in a detention camp, he said, “I’m pretty sensitive to the issue of civil rights.”

Matthew Fong, a member of the state Board of Equalization, said Takasugi’s election shows that a minority member “doesn’t have to come from a minority district to win” a legislative contest. Takasugi’s Ventura County district consists of Oxnard, Camarillo, Moorpark, Port Hueneme and most of Thousand Oaks.

Assembly Speaker Willie Brown noted that with Takasugi’s election, and the election of seven Latinos and seven African-Americans, the 80-member Assembly is beginning to mirror the state’s racial makeup.

“This house does not yet reflect the diversity of the people of the state of California,” Brown said. “But it comes closer than any other elective body of being appropriately representative of what California is and what California will become.”

Takasugi’s first vote on Monday was to join other Republicans to oppose Democrat Brown’s reelection as Speaker. But Takasugi said he expects to reach out to Democrats, especially other Assembly newcomers, to deal with the state’s problems. Takasugi is among 27 new members in the Assembly.

High on Takasugi’s list of priorities is an effort to overhaul the state’s workers’ compensation system. But he said he would also focus on such local issues as easing congestion on the Ventura Freeway in Oxnard.

Takasugi is embarking on his new career at an age when most people are looking toward retirement and spending more time with their grandchildren.

Takasugi, however, is on the move already. He attended a dinner for GOP lawmakers on Sunday and was expected to attend a reception Monday night thrown by Gov. Pete Wilson, who endorsed Takasugi in a contested Republican primary in June. Today, he’s scheduled for a round of orientations, including a session on legislative ethics.

Equally important, he’s looking for a Sacramento apartment to rent while he and his wife, Judy, are in the capital. “I’ve never looked for an apartment in my whole life,” said Judy. Along with a 7-year-old grandson, she was at Takasugi’s side as he took the oath of office.

Half a century ago, Takasugi also needed to find a new home but under far different circumstances.

Within months of the Pearl Harbor bombing, Takasugi and his parents, who had lived in Oxnard for nearly 40 years, found themselves in Gila River, Ariz., at one of several camps where Japanese-Americans were interned during the war.

Takasugi eventually obtained a security clearance that allowed him to complete his undergraduate studies at Temple University in Philadelphia. He then earned an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Earlier this year, Takasugi recalled that after he finished school, he could not get hired by any of the major accounting firms. “They’d say, ‘with that Asian face, we can’t put you in the field.’ ”

So, he returned to Oxnard to work at the Asahi Market, founded by his father in 1909. He got interested in politics in 1973 after tangling with the city bureaucracy over a sign at the market. He was appointed to the Planning Commission the following year, then won election to the City Council in 1976, the first of eight successful campaigns. He was elected mayor in 1982 and was succeeded recently by Manuel Lopez, who won the Nov. 3 election.

In June, Takasugi won a seven-way GOP primary and went on to win the seat in November. He replaces Assemblyman Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks), who unsuccessfully sought a seat in Congress.

Having moved on to the Assembly, Takasugi joked Monday, “I don’t feel any more powerful.” But he also said that in the legislative spotlight he could be a role model for a younger generation of Asian-American politicians.