Los Angeles Times Interview : Benjamin Cayetano : On the Success of Asian American Politicians--or Lack Thereof

When Bill Clinton was running for President, he vowed his Cabinet would “look like America” by reflecting the diversity of the nation’s population. He made good on his promise to women, African Americans and Latinos. But Clinton left unfilled his promise to Asian Americans, who, though their numbers are small, make up the fastest-growing minority in the United States. Asian Americans who have been appointed by the Administration do not enjoy high-profile positions.

That is not to say there have not been a few seasoned, well-qualified Asian American politicos in Washington. But they have been few and far between. It was only last year that their numbers in Congress were sufficient to create a Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. A major organizer of the caucus was Rep. Norman Y. Mineta (D-San Jose), who announced last week that he will resign Oct. 10, after 20 years of service. His departure will leave a big void in Asian American national politics. Mineta served briefly as chairman of the House Transportation Committee and oversaw passage of redress for Japanese Americans unjustly incarcerated by the U.S. government during World War II.

But other Asian Americans are emerging in state and local government. Gov. Benjamin J. Cayetano of Hawaii is the nation’s first Filipino American governor. The 55-year-old Democrat is also the country’s highest-elected official of Filipino ancestry. Despite his two terms as lieutenant governor, and a dozen years before that in the Hawaii state legislature, he sees limits for Asian Americans with big political aspirations--even as they continue to achieve professionally and academically.

Ironically, Cayetano left Hawaii for California because a friend told him opportunities were better for Filipino Americans there. But armed with degrees from UCLA and Loyola Law School, he returned to Hawaii, where he--a son of a poor, immigrant waiter--has risen to the political top.

Cayetano discussed Asian Americans in politics during a recent conversation in his office in Honolulu, at times lapsing into the clipped cadence frequently used by speakers from Hawaii. He was preparing to leave for Los Angeles, where he was to be the keynote speaker and honoree at the UCLA Asian American Studies Center’s awards dinner late last week. Cayetano and his wife, Lorraine, have three children and one grandchild.

“Too many people in America are not yet comfortable with Asian Americans,” he explained while reflecting on the likelihood of an Asian American being elected to national office. “If an Asian American were to win, the guy would have to look like Brandon Lee. Remember him? He died. He was killed in an accident. He was [actor] Bruce Lee’s son. He actually looked more on the Caucasian side.”

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Question: You’ve been in public office for 20 years. How would you describe the evolution of Asian Americans as a political force in the United States? First, we should talk about Hawaii, then nationally.

Answer: Well, Hawaii is a very unique case in American politics. This is a state where 70% of the population are people of color: 46% Asian Americans and roughly 24% Polynesian Americans. As a result, you find that in Hawaii, Asian Americans have been very successful, politically. George Ariyoshi was the first Japanese American governor. John Waihee, the first Polynesian American governor. Now I’m the first Filipino American governor. Hiram Fong, a Chinese American, was the first Asian to sit in the U.S. Senate, and Danny Inouye and Patsy Mink were our first Japanese Americans or Asian Americans to sit in the U.S. House. So they’re very successful in Hawaii, and Hawaii is a wonderful story for America.

But the further east you go, it changes. In California, you’ve got Norman Mineta and Robert Matsui--who have been around for a very, very long time. My sense is that their success is not so much attributed to the power of the Asian American vote in California. I say this with some hesitation, because I’m not thoroughly familiar with California--although I lived there for about nine years. But my feeling is they have achieved a level of accomplishment, which makes them appealing to the majority population. [But] it might be difficult for either one to become a senator--although Sen. Hayakawa did it.

Further east, you have some isolated cases like Chuck Hazama, who’s the mayor of Rochester, Minn. But then the mayor of Rochester, Minn. is in an environment where the council has the power. S.B. Woo was lieutenant governor of Delaware. He didn’t have any power at all. And so it [political power] diminishes as you move to east.

Q: Given the growing numbers of Asians in America, do you think the term Asian American is merely a political term, or are Asian Americans emerging as a political force, despite the fact the group is fragmented and diverse?

A: . . . . When it comes to Asian Americans, I would agree that this is a diverse group. I’m not sure that the Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Filipino communities have that much of a bond together.

Q: Do they have it in Hawaii?

A: I think they have it in Hawaii, primarily because of their history of common suffering. But on the mainland, it’s a little different.

Having said that, however, I think the political power of the Asian Americans will come from the fact that, as a group, Asian Americans are probably much better educated than most other groups. As a result, they have the ability to offer a much greater array of skills in different areas . . . . Of course, in close races, they [Asian Americans] can make a difference. Now, when people talk about the political power of Asian Americans, we need to count up the numbers . . . . It’s not a very big number . . . . As a national force, we are not as powerful as we would like to think we could become.

Q: In terms of immigration, the early Japanese and the Chinese and the Filipinos--all did come around the same time. Why do you think there is a tendency to overlook Filipino Americans?

A: If you study the movement of Filipino Americans to the United States, in particular to Hawaii, you’ll find many Filipino American males left the Philippines with the idea they were going to return. As a result, few engaged in picture-bride marriages, because they expected to go home. One of the great tragedies with Filipino Americans is--this came to light a few years ago--that many elderly males were neglected and didn’t have families. I have an uncle, for example, who lives in Las Vegas. He is 85 now. He hasn’t seen his wife in 40 years. But he sends money to her.

You know what this does to the advancement of a people when you don’t have family? You’re going to have some problems. So many, many Filipino families are very late starters. I think the mission to get educated gave way to their feeling to make a lot of money and go home. And for them, the jobs were such that they couldn’t make a lot of money and go home.

Q: How has the white leadership responded to multiculturalism and diversity in government? It has been an adjustment, for example, in California. We have a backlash with Proposition 187. There are certain blatant things that the leadership, which is white, is using as lightning - rod political issues. Did that happen here or is it about to?

A: Probably [Hawaiian] sovereignty might be a divisive issue if we don’t handle it correctly, if we don’t work together. But your question about the white community--it’s interesting that when I left Hawaii in 1963 to go to Los Angeles, I’d never been off this island. Never been in an airplane, OK, and I’d never met a white person who was not a boss or something.

If I went to a service station, the white guy there ran the service station. He was the manager. You know, if I went to a restaurant, the white guy was the maitre d’. The other guys were bus boys. The only white people I met who were in lesser roles were in the military . . . .

So I go to Los Angeles and all of a sudden I’m in this community where the majority of the population is white, and you see all these black folks and Hispanic people, and then I see white people on garbage trucks, white people pumping gas. And it’s cultural shock to me. Imagine for the white people who lived there [in Hawaii] for a very long time, who pretty much ran everything until 1954. Then all these sons--I’m sorry there were a few daughters, too--but sons, who were predominantly Nisei [second generation Japanese Americans] came back from the war . . . .

There was a political revolution here in 1954 and, all of a sudden, the “ins” are on the outs. Some of those people were good, decent people who actually did a lot of good things, and, politically, they became casualties of this large movement, which was not discriminating when it happened. So it’s been an adjustment for them.

That’s one reason the Republican Party here hasn’t fared that well . . . and the Democrats still continue to do well here . . . . This is a fairly progressive and liberal state. But the Republican Party is still tied into the past. You go to the Republican convention and you see a couple of things: a lot of old, white-haired people sprinkled by a few younger Bill Buckley types.

Q: What about affirmative action here in Hawaii, where the population is of color? Hawaii could offer an interesting look at how you apply affirmative action to a situation that’s not typical.

A: It’s interesting that most of the cases involving racial discrimination have been cases where white people have sued or, in a few cases, Filipinos have sued. Affirmative action hasn’t worked here like it worked on the mainland . . . . I don’t know of any person here who has lost a job because the employer had to give the job to a person who was a so-called minority. So, Hawaii is kind of an aberration in all of this.

Q: What do you see as a vision for Asian Americans in America?

A: Asian Americans probably will have a better opportunity than other ethnic minorities to become successful in almost every facet of American life--except for politics. That is because with politics, there’s the intangible there.

Let me put it this way: I don’t think you’ll ever have an Asian American--not in my lifetime--having a chance to be elected President of the United States. But they will rise to the highest level in medicine, business and every other endeavor.

Q: What do you see as that intangible that would hold them from rising in politics?

A: The ethnic divisiveness that I see.

Q: Among the different Asian American groups?

A: Not only Asian American groups but also among the African Americans, the Hispanics and others. There is an estrangement between African Americans and Koreans. Just the environment of distrust and intolerance on the mainland now is going to make it very difficult for Asian Americans to make great advancements.

I don’t know what happened to Michael Woo in his campaign [for L.A. mayor], but from the outside, he looked like he was pretty strong in the beginning, and then, all of a sudden, he kind of fell apart . . . . It is hard for Asian Americans to make the kind of progress, politically, that we have made in Hawaii. In the States, you have communities, people have bumper stickers on their car that . . . say derogatory things about Asian Americans.

Q: One of the greatest challenges for Asian Americans is if you’re not going directly into politics, how do you have more of a voice in policy making?

A: One tangible in politics is that there’s too much that’s beyond people’s control. How you look is important in politics. Ronald Reagan looked like everybody’s uncle and brother and grandfather and father. I don’t know if Wendy Gramm [who is Korean American] is going to be an asset to Phil Gramm [in running for President] . . . . She doesn’t look the part of a First Lady, from the majority population’s point of view. I understand this because I have been in (politics) a long, long time.*