Daniel Akaka

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Daniel Kahikina Akaka
United States Senator from Hawaii
Incumbent
Assumed office  May 16, 1990 Serving with Daniel Inouye
Preceded by	Spark Matsunaga
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Hawaii's 2nd district
In office January 3, 1977 – May 15, 1990
Preceded by	Spark Matsunaga
Succeeded by	Patsy Mink
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 4, 2007
Preceded by	Larry Craig
Born	September 11, 1924 (1924-09-11) (age 84) Honolulu, Hawaiʻi
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Mary Mildred Chong
Residence	Honolulu, Hawaii
Alma mater	University of Hawaii at Manoa
Profession	Educator (Teacher)
Religion	United Church of Christ
Website	Senator Daniel K. Akaka
Military service
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1943-1947
Unit	Corps or Engineers
Battles/wars	World War II

Daniel Kahikina Akaka (born September 11, 1924) is the junior U.S. Senator from Hawaii and a member of the Democratic Party. He is the first U.S. Senator of Native Hawaiian ancestry and is currently the only Chinese American member of the Senate^[1]. With the departure of Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska he became the fourth oldest member of the United States Senate after Robert Byrd, Frank Lautenberg, and Daniel Inouye.

[edit] Early life and career

Akaka was born in Honolulu to Annie Kahoa and Kahikina Akaka.^[2] He entered the military immediately after high school graduation, serving from 1943 to 1947. During World War II he served in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, including service on Saipan and Tinian. He worked as a welder and a mechanic and spent his final months of the war as a first mate on the vessel Morning Star.

Entering college (funded by the G.I. Bill), he earned a Bachelor of Education in 1952 from the University of Hawaii. He later received a Master of Education from the same school in 1966. He worked as a high school teacher in Honolulu from 1953 until 1960, when he was then hired as a vice principal. In 1963, he became head principal. In 1969, he was hired by the Department of Education as a chief program planner. Akaka then continued working in government, holding positions as director of the Hawaii Office of Economic Opportunity, human resources assistant for state Governor George Ariyoshi, and director of the Progressive Neighborhoods Program.

Akaka was first elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1976 to represent Hawaii's Second Congressional District. He won seven consecutive elections by wide margins.

[edit] United States Senate

Akaka was appointed by Governor John Waihee to the U.S. Senate in April 1990 to serve temporarily after the death of Senator Spark Matsunaga (who died that month), and sworn into office on May 16, 1990. In November of the same year, he was elected to complete the remaining four years of Matsunaga's unexpired term. He was re-elected in 1994 for a full six-year term, and, with over 70 percent of the popular vote, again in 2000.

Since 2000, Akaka has sponsored legislation to afford sovereignty to native Hawaiians. The Akaka Bill is presently under consideration.

Akaka at Senate youth program

In April 2006, he was selected by Time as one of "America's Five Worst Senators." The article criticized him for mainly authoring minor legislation, calling him "master of the minor resolution and the bill that dies in committee".^[3]

The other Senator from Hawaii is Daniel Inouye. Despite almost three decades' difference in Senate tenure, the two Daniels were born four days apart. Akaka is married to Mary Mildred "Millie" Chong; they have five children (four sons and a daughter), 14 grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

Like Inouye and 21 other Senators, Akaka voted against authorization of the use of military force against Iraq.^[4]

In February 2009, a bill was filed in the Philippine House of Representatives by Rep. Antonio Diaz seeking to confer honorary Filipino citizenship on Akaka, Senators Daniel Inouye and Ted Stevens and Representative Bob Filner, for their role in securing the passage of benefits for Filipino World War II veterans.^[5]

[edit] 2006 re-election campaign

Running for another term in 2006, Akaka won the September 23 Democratic primary against U.S. Congressman Ed Case with 54% to Case's 46%.^[6] Akaka's Republican challenger was state Representative Cynthia Thielen, who was appointed to fill the place of Republican primary winner Jerry Coffee, who had withdrawn earlier in the year due to health reasons. In the general election on November 7, 2006, Daniel Akaka defeated Thielen, 61.8% to 36,4%.

[edit] Committee assignments

• Committee on Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on Airland
  • Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support
  • Subcommittee on SeaPower
• Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development
  • Subcommittee on Financial Institutions
  • Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment
• Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information and International Security
  • Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce and the District of Columbia (Chairman)
  • Ad Hoc Subcommittee on State, Local, and Private Sector Preparedness and Integration
• Committee on Indian Affairs
• Committee on Veterans' Affairs (Chairman)
• Congressional Task Force on Native Hawaiian Issues (Chairman)

[edit] Electoral history

2006 Hawaii United States Senatorial Election

2006 Hawaii Democratic United States Senatorial Primary Election

2000 Hawaii United States Senatorial Election

1994 Hawaii United States Senatorial Election

[edit] See also

• Hōkūle‘a - In 1987, his son Daniel Akaka sailed aboard her from Papeʻete to Tautira, Tahiti, French Polynesia.

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Daniel Akaka

• United States Senator Daniel Kahikina Akaka, U.S. Senate site

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Dan Akaka U.S. Senate, Campaign site

v • d • e United States Senators from Hawaii Class 1 Fong • Matsunaga • Akaka Class 3 Long • Inouye

v • d • e Past and Present Members of the United States House of Representatives from Hawaii One At-large seat (1959-1963) Inouye Two At-large seats (1963-1973) Seat Gill • Mink Seat Matsunaga Districts (1973-present) 1 Mink • Heftel • Abercrombie • Saiki • Abercrombie 2 Matsunaga • Akaka • Mink • Case • Hirono