ONE of the most awaited publications in Hawaii today is the tell-all autobiography of its former governor, Benjamin J. Cayetano, the first Filipino-American to govern a state. Titled Ben: A Memoir, From Street Kid to Governor, the forthcoming book’s anticipated publication date is January 2009. In the book, Cayetano shares his story, from a childhood in the tough neighborhoods of Kalihi and its surroundings, to serving as Hawaii’s governor from 1994 to 2002.
In an interview that came out in the Honolulu Weekly, Cayetano said that unlike other politicians who tend to ’self censor’ their memoirs leaving out embarrassing episodes and blunders from their life stories, he said the readers of his book ‘will be able to see my warts, the mistakes that I made,’ as well as the high points.
Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, Cayetano was raised by his father in Kalihi, an ethnic Filipino neighborhood west of Downtown Honolulu. He attended Wallace Rider Farrington High School where he received poor grades and was often disciplined by his teachers and counselors. Upon graduation Cayetano married Lorraine Gueco, his high school sweetheart. Cayetano worked a variety of menial jobs, such as a metal-packer in a junkyard, truck driver, apprentice electrician, and finally as a draftsman.
In his soon-to-be-published book, Cayetano said he was frustrated by racism and politically unfair hiring practices in his native Hawaii so he used proceeds from illegal gambling to move his family to California in 1963. In LA, Cayetano attended Los Angeles Harbor College and eventually transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles in 1966. In 1968, he graduated from UCLA with a major in political science and minor in American history and he earned his Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law School in 1971.
After getting his law degree, Cayetano was hired by prominent Honolulu attorney Frank Padgett to work at his law firm, giving him an advance on his salary so he could move his family back to the Islands. In 1974,Cayetano was elected to the Legislature, beginning 28 years in elected office as a state senator, lieutenant governor and then governor.
He joined the John D. Waihee III gubernatorial ticket in 1986 and became the first Filipino American Lieutenant Governor in the United States. The Waihee/Cayetano ticket was re-elected to a second term in 1990. In his capacity as Lieutenant Governor, Cayetano established the A+ Program, an ambitious state-funded, universal, after-school care program with chartered organizations at each public elementary school in Hawaii. The A+ Program became a model for other school boards across the country to create similar projects.
In 1994, Cayetano was swept into the office of governor, having defeated Congresswoman Patricia Saiki and former Mayor of Honolulu Frank F. Fasi. He was re-elected in 1998 for a second term. Since the law did not allow him to run for a third term,
Cayetano left office in December 2002.
Cayetano is currently married to the former Vicky Tiu Liu, whom he married on May 5, 1997, and with whom he has two children, Marissa and William. He has three children from his first marriage: Brandon, Janeen, and Samantha. n
( Published November 19, 2008 p. B3 LAMDWK )
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