Column: George H.W. Bush: Leader, mentor and a friend to Hawaii

The United States of America lost a great leader and patriot with the passing of former President George H.W. Bush. Hawaii lost a great supporter, a president who understood the special role our islands play in the country and in the region. I lost a dear friend and mentor, a man whose humility and humor sometimes belied a core of steel forged during World War II when as a young Navy aviator he piloted an Avenger torpedo bomber in combat in the Pacific.

There are many examples of President Bush’s ties to our state. I can think of two in particular. The most important was his decision in 1990 to stop the military’s use of Kahoolawe as a bombing range. The second example, also in 1990, was when Bush met with Pacific Island leaders at the East-West Center in Manoa, the first time a U.S. president met with the heads of government of our neighbors in Oceania.

In 1990, when I was serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, Bush asked to meet with me in the Oval Office. During that meeting, he asked me to give up my seat and run for the U.S. Senate. Sen. Spark Matsunaga had passed, and it would be an open seat, unusual in Hawaii history. The president offered to help me in what we all knew would be a tough race.

I did make a special request before accepting his offer. I asked him to find a way to stop the U.S. military’s bombing of Kahoolawe. The practice began in World War II, I reminded the president, and Hawaii’s sacrifice had gone on too long. Hawaiians consider the island sacred, and there had to be a way to stop the bombing, I told the president.

Bush agreed to look into the matter. And he did. It wasn’t much later that he issued an executive order halting the use of Kahoolawe as a military bombing range.

Also true to his word, he and first lady Barbara came to Honolulu and held a successful fundraiser for me. I did not win the race, but I shall never forget the many kindnesses and assistance he offered.

After the election, Bush asked me to return to Washington — this time to serve in his administration as head of the U.S. Small Business Administration. I was honored and accepted because I recognized that the position was particularly critical to Hawaii. Our economy depends on small business. That executive branch service was one of the high points of my long career in public service.

Bush in 1990 again asked to meet with me. He would be traveling through Hawaii, he told me, and was there anything he could do for the state? I used the unusual opportunity to suggest that he meet with the heads of government of the independent Pacific Island nations, and that he use the tremendous expertise and outstanding facilities of the East-West Center for the first-time summit.

The president, whose foreign affairs expertise was legendary, told me he liked the idea. The result was the first U.S. presidential summit with leaders from our insular neighbors at the East-West Center, a practice that I’m happy to note has continued with some of the presidents who followed Bush.

I first met George H.W. Bush in 1974 when he represented our country in Beijing, and I was a member of the Hawaii Legislature. We hit it off, and I was an early and active supporter when he sought our party’s presidential nomination in 1980. I’ve been an enthusiastic supporter of his ever since.

George H.W. Bush will be remembered as one of our country’s great leaders. I shall remember him as a great friend, to me and to Hawaii.

Patricia F. Saiki represented Hawaii in the 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House from 1987 to 1991, then served as U.S. Small Business Administration administrator.