Sakae "Sak" Yamamoto (January 17, 1914 – June 28, 1997) is an American politician who served as the first Asian-American mayor of

Carson, California Carson is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the South Bay region of Los Angeles, located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately away from Los Angeles International Airport. Incorporated on February 20, 1968, ...

Biography

Yamamoto was born on January 17, 1914, in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, as a Japanese-American, he was interned along with his wife at the Tulare Race Tracks in Tulare, California. After the war, he moved to Addison, Illinois where he was elected to the DuPage County Board of Education. In 1954, he and his family move to

. He became politically active after he was forced to sell his house for a new school. In 1960, he served on the board of the Dominguez-Carson Fact Finding Committee which determined to incorporate the area as a city. After six prior attempts, on February 6, 1968, a successful vote was made to incorporate and Yamamoto was elected to a two-year term on the City Council along with John A. Marbut, who was named first mayor, John L. Junk, ''mayor pro tem'',

Gilbert D. Smith Gilbert D. Smith (born 1933/1934) is an American politician who served as the List of mayors of Carson, California, first African-American mayor of Carson, California. Biography Smith was born in Los Angeles and attended Los Angeles public schoo ...

, and H. Rick Clark. He lost his seat in the 1970 election but was re-elected to the City Council in 1972 where he served until 1979. During that period, he was selected as mayor in 1973, 1977, 1978. In February 1979, he helped to secure a new

Bridgestone is a Japanese multinational tire manufacturer founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi (1889–1976) in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of , meaning 'stone bridge' in Japan ...

distribution facility in the city. In May 1979, a group denominated ''Carsonites Organized for Good Government'' filed a recall petition against Yamamoto and fellow councilman John Marbut for poor leadership, putting the interests of business ahead of the people, and for awarding a new five-year garbage contract to other than the low bidder while also prematurely ending debate. The recall petition was successful. Their political ally, then-mayor Kay Callas, was not recalled although she voted for the contract, she did not support ending debate. Yamamoto was replaced by Sylvia L. Muise and Marbut was replaced by Thomas G. Mills, both were leaders of the recall effort. He filed for re-election to the City Council in 1982 but did not win finishing fourth.

Personal life

He was married to Greta Yamamoto; they had four children: Glen, Karen, Brenda, and Janice. He died on June 28, 1997, and was buried at Green Hills Memorial Park. He had a cameo appearance as mayor in the 1974 film '' Gone in 60 Seconds.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yamamoto, Sak Mayors of places in California American mayors of Japanese descent 1914 births 1997 deaths Mayors of Carson, California California politicians of Japanese descent Japanese-American internees California city council members Asian-American city council members