Los Angeles, CA – Today, Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn released the following statement after the passing of Norman Mineta, the nation’s first Asian American cabinet secretary:
“As one of our nation’s highest profile Asian Americans, Norm Mineta was able to negotiate reparations for Japanese Americans interned during World War II, decades after he lived in an internment camp as a child. As Transportation Secretary and the first Asian American cabinet secretary, he created the TSA after 9/11 and led the department in a new focus on public transit. He will be remembered for his character, his willingness to work across the aisle and, despite what he had been put through, his love of country. I was lucky to have known him and worked with him. May he rest in peace.”