<Begin Segment 14>

SY: And it's interesting that they, it all, the work that you did comes, came from your own personal experience too, so that, so as a person who came out of the concentration camps you used that as a motivating factor for a lot of the work that you did in the, in the legislature. You were successful in getting funding for some major groups. Can you talk a little bit about what that procedure is like, what prompted that, how you were able to get it?

GN: Let's see, my first year, 1999, I was able to get a million dollars for the Japanese American National Museum. It's too bad that they don't remember that. [Laughs] Not only that, but George Takei publically said that I was not responsible for that, getting that money, that it was Mike Honda. And he never apologized for that.

SY: So what, describe how it happened, how it came to be.

GN: I have no idea what brought that to mind.

SY: Comment on...

GN: Yeah.

SY: But the, the case for the money --

GN: But that money came from the committee, budget subcommittee that I chaired.

SY: I see.

GN: And it was, I think, under the California Arts Council category that, the million dollars that I was able to get for the Japanese American National Museum. And then, you know, I had to explain to George Takei that, look, part of the reason why I'm able to do it, number one, came out of my committee, number two, I represent a very marginal district and it's in the speaker's interest to help those people who are in the marginal district. If you're in a safe seat they don't really have to worry about you because you're going to get reelected anyway, but in the marginal seat they have to watch out for you.

SY: And this, and the speaker at the time was...

GN: Was Antonio.

SY: I see, so he really sort of watched out for you.

GN: Oh yeah.

SY: And the, you were also, talk about some of these positions you served in congress, 'cause, head of the budget committee, you were also, what other positions did you hold?

GN: Well, my last three years I was the chair of the Democratic caucus, which is one of the leadership positions. And so I got that position when Herb Wesson became the speaker, and so I'm the first Asian to ever hold that position.

SY: And what did that give you? What kind of additional power did that give you?

GN: Well, you're part of the, now you're part of the leadership team. You're engaged in discussion at the leadership level. You also work out certain strategy. Being the caucus chair you have a caucus meeting once a week and so you chair that meeting. In our case we had, what, forty-eight assembly, Democratic assembly members, so there's forty-seven people that you're dealing with.

SY: Did they bring issues, did you all bring issues before the caucus and then you decided sort of uniformly what you were going to pursue?

GN: Yeah, and a lot of time what, a lot of times what happened is that the people who do bring issues, they'll talk to the speaker first on a personal level to at least get support for it, if they need some support. And then, and then that will subsequently be discussed among the leadership team, how people feel about it.

SY: I see, so very influential position it was.

GN: Yes.

SY: And so during that period you were able to do more?

GN: More relative to what happens in the caucus.

SY: I see, I see. So other things that you are proud of in terms of what was done for the Asian community during your tenure?

GN: Yes.

<End Segment 14> - Copyright © 2011 Densho. All Rights Reserved.