Paul Takeo Bannai (July 4, 1920 – September 14, 2019) was an American politician who was the first

Japanese American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest Asi ...

to ever serve in the

California State Legislature The California State Legislature is a bicameral state legislature consisting of a lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members; and an upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members. Both houses of the Legisla ...

. He served in the State Assembly as a Republican legislator from 1973 until 1980, when he was defeated for reelection by

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Richard Floyd.

Legislative career

He represented the 67th District in his first term but was then reapportioned into the 53rd District, where he served for the rest of his time in the legislature. Bannai served on the following committees: Criminal Justice, Finance and Insurance, Veterans Affairs, Ways and Means, and Rules.

Background

Bannai was born in Colorado in 1920 to Japanese immigrant parents. In 1942, he was interned at

Manzanar Manzanar is the site of one of ten American concentration camps, where more than 120,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II from March 1942 to November 1945. Although it had over 10,000 inmates at its peak, it was one o ...

during World War II with his family due to

Executive Order 9066 Executive Order 9066 was a United States presidential executive order signed and issued during World War II by United States president Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942. This order authorized the secretary of war to prescribe certain ...

. From there, Bannai enlisted in the United States Army and served with the

442nd Infantry Regiment The 442nd Infantry Regiment ( ja, 第442歩兵連隊) was an infantry regiment of the United States Army. The regiment is best known as the most decorated in U.S. military history and as a fighting unit composed almost entirely of second-gene ...

and the Army Intelligence Service. Prior to serving in the legislature, Bannai served on the Gardena City Council and the Gardena Planning Commission. After his defeat, Bannai served as Chief Memorial Affairs Director for National Cemetery System which is part of the

Veterans Administration The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers and ...

. He died in September 2019 at the age of 99.

References

External links

Join California Paul T. Bannai
* 1920 births 2019 deaths People from Delta, Colorado American military personnel of Japanese descent American politicians of Japanese descent United States Army personnel of World War II Japanese-American internees California politicians of Japanese descent Republican Party members of the California State Assembly People from Gardena, California United States Army soldiers 20th-century American politicians Asian conservatism in the United States {{California-CAAssembly-stub