JEAN Sadako King, Hawaii’s first female lieutenant governor and one of the state’s most prominent political activists, died Sunday evening, according to family and friends. She was 87.
Friends and acquaintances described King as both deeply caring and deeply private. A peace advocate and Quaker with striking silver hair and a quiet dignity, King was unflinching in her principles.
She had roots in the push for labor rights and was a fiercely independent lawmaker, often well to the political left of her colleagues even in a largely Democratic state.
"She was the ultimate liberal," recounted former Hawaii Gov. Ben Cayetano, who served in the state Legislature while King was lieutenant governor. "Very compassionate. Also, a very strong environmentalist. There were no scandals or anything tied to her."
King’s death was confirmed by her sister-in-law Ethel McKillop. She declined to disclose the cause of death but said King had been ill for at least a month and had been under the 24-hour care of hospice workers and her grandchildren. Other family members could not be reached Monday, so no details on memorials or services were available.
KING served as Gov. George Ariyoshi’s second-in-command from 1978 to 1982, when she broke ranks and made an unsuccessful challenge against him for the top seat.
Longtime local Democratic leader Richard Port, who was part of King’s inner campaign circle in that race, said her bid came at a significant juncture in Hawaii’s history.
"A lot of issues at that time involved the environment and building," and King did not believe Ariyoshi’s policies went far enough for conservation efforts or to provide affordable housing, Port said. Ariyoshi could not be reached for comment Monday.
"She was always an underdog," Port said. "But the progressive wing came out to support her, and she did remarkably well considering all the money was with the governor."
Nonetheless, she lost by a "wide margin," according to author Tom Coffman’s "The Island Edge of America," a political history of the Aloha State.
"Looking at it, I thought it was a mistake," Cayetano said Monday. "But she followed her convictions."
King also served in the state House and Senate before launching her bid for lieutenant governor in 1978. After she lost her 1982 bid for governor, Port said, King’s interests mostly shifted from state politics to national and international issues.
She went on to co-found and serve on the board for Interfaith Alliance Hawaii, a state chapter of the national Interface Alliance, which aims to encourage cooperation among members of different religious faiths.
"She became quite an active community worker," said Kailua resident John Heidel, who served as the local Interfaith Alliance president for eight years. King was concerned about "our culture of violence, and looking for ways to solve problems through nonviolent means," Heidel said. "That was a passion for her."
KING also helped lead Save Our Star-Bulletin, a grass-roots community group that successfully pushed to keep Honolulu a two-newspaper town after Liberty Newspapers announced in 1999 that it planned to close the Star-Bulletin.
"Jean was a true pioneer," Gov. Neil Abercrombie said in a statement Monday. "I fondly remember and value the time we served together in the state Legislature."
He added, "Throughout the years, she remained a steadfast advocate for peace and the environment, unwavering in her recognition of our responsibility as stewards of Hawaii’s natural resources."
Other top Democratic political leaders from Hawaii, including U.S. Sens. Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono and U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, also released statements mourning King’s death.
On Monday friends remembered King as a friend who recorded messages singing "Happy Birthday" for their birthdays — and labor-movement anthems on Labor Day — on their answering machines, even though she didn’t have an answering machine of her own for them to leave a thank-you, Port said.
"I think she was just driving for honest, efficient government — which is a dream," Waikiki resident and longtime friend Tom Rosof said Monday. "She was a very private person. About her personal life, almost nobody knew."
Sister Joan Chatfield, a Maryknoll nun who sat on the Interfaith Alliance board with King, recalled watching Halley’s comet with King late one night in 1986, near the Halona Blowhole.
"After it was over, she said, ‘It’s so important to remember these wonderful things keep happening in the sky,’" Chatfield recalled. For King, observing the night sky helped keep things in perspective amid her preoccupations, Chatfield said.
"She enjoyed good happenings in the sky."
