Dr. Henry “Hank” Oyama

Memorial services for Dr. Henry “Hank” Oyama were held today at St. Augustine’s Cathedral, 192 S. Stone Ave, with hundreds of people from the Tucson community in attendance. Dr. Oyama was 86 years old and passed away on March 20. He was born and raised here in Tucson, and at age 15 was innocently interned along with 120,000 other Japanese Americans in relocation camps in the western United States. Hank was sent to such a camp north of here in Poston, Arizona with his mother and sister. He was drafted into the U.S. Army after spending 15 months in that internment camp, and later enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, from which he retired as Lt. Colonel.

After returning to Tucson he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Arizona in education, and taught at Pueblo High School for 18 years. Following that he was hired at Pima Community College as director of bilingual and international studies, later became Associate Dean of that program, and eventually retired from PCC in 1991 as Vice President Emeritus. He was bilingual in Spanish and was well know for his advocacy for Hispanic students in Tucson, and established the Hispanic Student Endowment Fund. In 2003 an elementary school in Tucson was named after him at 2700 S. La Cholla Blvd.

Today’s service started off with a welcome by Bishop Gerald Kicanas, who said that Hank was “proud of his roots” and “rejoiced in them here in Tucson.” He also said that Hank “taught by example.” Father Gonzalo Villegas said that Hank exemplified Pope Paul VI’s statement “If you want peace, work for justice.” Particularly touching were when “Amazing Grace” and “Ave Maria” were sung.

Beautiful eulogy delivered today by Ward 5 Councilman Richard Fimbres (also a pallbearer), who spoke of Hank as a “man of integrity, a role model for all”, and listed the many awards/honors that Hank received over his lifetime including Pan Asian Man of the Year in 2005. Hank’s only surviving daughter Mary Catherine Tate spoke of her dad as the person she “learned tenacity from” and that “love is a choice.” Hank was survived by his 2nd wife Laura Ann Toledo Oyama, four children, five stepchildren, fourteen grandchildren, six great grandchildren.

Attending today’s service were many notables:

Ruben Reyes for CD 3 Congressman Raul Grijalva
Former State Senator Victor Soltero
LD 3 State Rep. Macario Saldate (pallbearer)
Pima County District 4 Supervisor Ray Carroll, District 5 Supervisor Richard Elias
Tucson City Councilmembers Richard Fimbres, Karin Uhlich, Regina Romero, former Councilman Steve Leal
TUSD governing board members Adelita Grijalva, Mark Stegeman, Kristel Foster, Cam Juarez
Sunnyside board member Eva Dong Carrillo
former TUSD Superintendents Roger Pfeuffer, Stan Paz

In 1959 he and his Caucasian college sweetheart Mary Ann Jordan challenged Arizona’s anti-miscegenation law which prohibited a Caucasian person from marrying someone Asian American. The actual statute stated: “The marriage of a person of Caucasian blood with a Negro, Mongolian, Malay or Hindu is null and void.” Hank and Mary Ann became plaintiffs in the ACLU of Arizona’s first case, to challenge this law, which was stuck down by Pima County Superior Court Judge Herbert Krucker, but then appealed to the Arizona Supreme Court. Before that court could rule, the Arizona legislature repealed that law, so Hank and Mary Ann’s case was dismissed as moot.

I (an ACLU state board member for five years) attended the ACLU of Arizona’s 50th anniversary dinner on March 20, 2009 where the attorneys for that case were honored, as well as Hank. His wife Mary Ann had passed on by then, but Hank said that she should have been there that night, because she had a harder time with the verbal abuse she endured by being a white person married to a non-white person back then. For Hank and Mary Ann, love was indeed a choice, and they had to fight to remain together and get married.

He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Arizona for this civil rights challenge.

More about Hank in

Arizona Daily Star: http://azstarnet.com/news/local/tucson-education-civil-rights-advocate-hank-oyama-dies/article_fa0197ee-9185-11e2-b1b5-0019bb2963f4.html

Rum Romanism Rebellion (by former State Rep. Tom Prezelski): http://www.rumromanismrebellion.net/2013/03/21/dr-henry-hank-oyama-1926-2013/

Rest in peace civil libertarian and “father of bilingual education” Henry “Hank” Oyama.

The 5 member citizens committee appointed by the Pima County Bd. of Supervisors met today at the County Administration Building, and selected 3 of 11 applicants as nominees for the vacant LD 29 House Seat. Rep. Daniel Patterson resigned on April 11, setting into motion this process to select his replacement.

The 5 member committee were composed of 3 former legislators (State Senator Victor Soltero, State House Rep. Lou-Ann Preble, and Rep. Tom Prezelski), plus two community members– Kristin Almquist (former director of Governor Napolitano’s Tucson office) and Julee Dawson, development director at Tucson Hebrew Academy. Soltero & Prezelski are registered Democrats, Preble is a Republican, and Dawson & Almquist are registered Independent voters. The committee elected Almquist as committee Chair this morning.

Since Patterson resigned as an Independent, though elected as a Democrat twice (2008 and 2010), the successor needs to be an Independent living in District 29. 10 men and one woman had applied to the Pima County Clerk, and the 3 selected for nomination are:

- Nicholas Fontana, J.D. practicing attorney, Judge Pro Tem at Tohono O’odham Tribal Court
- Albert Jordan, aerospace engineer at Raytheon Missile Systems, current Independent candidate for LD 2 House
- Leon Sierra, business representative at the International Union of Operating Engineers, former Marine

Information from Pima County Recorder’s Office provided to the committee in writing this morning: Fontana has been an Independent only since 4/14/12, prior to that a Democrat. Jordan has been registered as an Independent since May, 2002 when he first registered to vote. Sierra was a Democrat and changed to Independent in June, 2011.

For the full list/bios of the 11 who applied, here’s the AZ Daily Star article:http://azstarnet.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/apply-to-represent-tucson-in-legislature/article_0adcbdca-4786-5c3c-bf01-a63b05ce29ae.html. Stephania O’Neill withdrew her application before the committee met to deliberate today. Dr. Joseph Scott, husband of Ward 4 Councilmember Shirley Scott was also one of the applicants.

I attended the first hour and half of today’s meeting. The committee stated their criteria of selection would be political engagement/experience, knowledge of legislative process, availability of the candidate to move to Phoenix till the Legislature adjoined, how long been an Independent, and grasp of the issues facing the Legislature.

On Monday at 9 a.m. the Pima County Board of Supervisors will select and appoint one of these for the job. Public input is encouraged through the Pima County website (click here) or by calling/writing to your respective District 1 to 5 Supervisors. You can send comments to COB_mail@pima.gov. If you have anything to say about any of these 3 nominees, now is the time to speak up. Their cover letters and resumes are online by clicking on their respective names.

There are 21,161 registered Independents living in LD 29 in Tucson. With the April 11, 2012 resignation of 2-term House Rep. Daniel Patterson,who was facing expulsion from the Full AZ House of Representatives, an Independent replacement is being immediately sought to fill this LD 29 House term until December 2012.

Patterson had been elected as a Democrat to LD 29 twice in 2008 and 2010 and earlier this year changed his voter registration to Independent on April 2, 2012. Upon his resignation that AZ Secretary of State informed the Chair of the Pima County Board of Supervisors Ramon Valadez that a replacement should be an Independent (No Party Preference) in LD 29, since Patterson was an Independent when he formally resigned.

Today the Pima County Board of Supervisors appointed a 5 member citizen’s committee to review applications and submit 3 names to them within a week. The deadline for applicants is 3 p.m. Wednesday April 18, to Pima County Clerk Robin Brigode.

The Supervisors, after some discussion this morning about publicity and transparency, appointed to the citizen’s committee:

–former LD 29 State Senator Victor Soltero (D)
–former LD 29 State House Rep. Tom Prezelski (D, who ironically lost to Patterson in Sept.2008 in the Democratic primary)
–former LD 9 State House Rep. Lou-Ann Preble (R)
–Kristin Almquist (I), former Director of Tucson office for Governor Janet Napolitano
–Julee Dawson (I), Development director at the Tucson Hebrew Academy

The Board’s motion to appoint these individuals was passed unanimously and gave the committee a deadline of 3 p.m. Friday to select 3 names for the appointment, in order to allow community input over the weekend. Then the Supervisors will select the appointee at a special board meeting at 10 a.m. on April 23.

Present at today’s meeting was Independent* James Kelley, a transportation specialist for Union Pacific Railroad personnel, a former U.S. Navy intelligence analyst, formerly “The Cholla Jumps” blogger here at Tucsoncitizen.com before he created his own blogsite (no longer in operation). Kelley is the only applicant so far for this LD 29 House seat.

At today’s meeting District 4 Supervisor Ray Carroll inquired if Pima County Elections or the Recorder’s Office could attempt to send a “robo-call” to all Independents living in LD 29 to inform them of this vacancy and how to apply. The discussion seemed to indicate that this type of publicity would be cost-prohibitive, especially with the contested CD 8 House primary election tomorrow.

* Update: Kelley told me at the meeting today that he is an Independent, but according to Pima County Recorder’s Office, he is still registered as a Republican (and has been since June, 2003). I’ve called Kelley for clarification on this, as he has served as Chair of the LD 29 Republican Party in the past. I just spoke with Kelley and he did register as an Independent on April 11, 2012 (the same day Patterson resigned), and has written confirmation of this from the AZ Secretary of State.