It seems like everyone has a Norm Mineta story, even President Bill Clinton.
During a memorial celebration of life attended by nearly 1,000 people, Clinton recalled Mineta calling him in the waning days of his administration in 2001 for advice on whether to accept an offer from President George W. Bush to be U.S. secretary of transportation. Mineta — who was then Clinton’s commerce secretary and had served 20 years in Congress — worried the country was becoming too polarized to accept a lifelong Democrat in a Republican president’s cabinet.
“I told him, ‘Norm, I think you really need to do this and I think you need to do it because it’s unusual, and because nobody expects it anymore and because America’s gotten so polarized and because you’re the best qualified person to do this job,” Clinton said Thursday in the preacher-like cadence so familiar during his presidency. “Norm Mineta spent a lifetime trying to be a builder not a breaker, a uniter not a divider, someone who used his power to empower others, not to get more power for himself at other people’s expense. All that’s out of fashion today.”
That was just one of dozens of stories told about Mineta, who died May 3 at age 90, during the packed memorial at the San Jose Civic Auditorium on Thursday.
The milestones of Mineta’s storied life were touched upon: the 10-year-old Japanese American boy in a Cub Scout uniform having his baseball bat confiscated by the U.S. government as he and his family were loaded onto a train bound for an internment camp during World War II; the onetime insurance agent who became the first Asian American to become mayor of a major U.S. city; the congressman who pushed the United States to apologize for incarcerating citizens during World War II and to pay reparations to those families; the amiable dealmaker who served presidents of two parties and the decisive cabinet official who grounded 4,300 planes after the 9/11 attacks.
There were plenty of lighter moments, too. Diane Fukami of the Mineta Legacy Project talked about recruiting Republican Dan Lungren to appear in the documentary about Mineta’s life to talk about their adversarial relationship in Congress. Lungren’s opening line, Fukami said, was “That Norm Mineta, the nicest guy you’ll ever meet.” So much for creating controversy.
And U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Joanna Nunan, who was Mineta’s assistant in the department of transportation, compared Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry to Mineta — because of his inherent ability, teamwork and unselfish play. Nunan noted those similar qualities might have something to do with why Curry is the favorite player of Mineta’s wife, Deni.
But the speakers more often talked about a man whose love for his hometown resonated long after he moved to the East Coast. “For a man of his stature, it’s remarkable how many San Joseans feel some personal connection to Norm,” said San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, recalling the stream of people greeting the former mayor when they had lunch in Japantown in 2019. “Norm cultivated that connection with his legendary memory, seemingly never forgetting a name. Far more than some yardstick of political skill, though, his memory reflected a passion for the people he served and loved.”
Willie Brown, who served as Assembly speaker and later mayor of San Francisco, met Mineta during George McGovern’s presidential campaign in 1972. He said his longtime friend had a personality that made people believe in him — something that came in handy when Brown was San Francisco’s mayor and Mineta helped secure federal funds for projects as transportation secretary.
“He could convince the Bush administration, strangely enough, that San Francisco was not a bad place,” said Brown, adding that he named his daughter, Sydney Minetta Brown, after his friend.
Leon Panetta — who joined Congress a couple years after Mineta and later served as director of the CIA and secretary of defense — fondly remembered how the pair would laugh off the numerous instances when people — including high-ranking elected officials — would confuse the two because of their rhyming names. But he grew serious when talking about his conversations with Mineta on Sept. 11, 2001.
“Norm lived life to the fullest, and because he kept fighting, he made America better,” Panetta said. “I believe that the test in life ultimately for all of us is whether or not during life we made a difference in the lives of others. Norm made a difference in the lives of all of us.”
For four of the speakers — Mark Brantner, Bob Brantner, Stuart Mineta and David Mineta — he was also their dad. They remembered a dad who stayed up so late writing notes to eighth-graders from his district who visited the Capitol on field trips that he fell asleep with a pen in his hand; who took off an afternoon for a go-kart session in Redwood City; and whose oft-spoken phrase, “Thanks a Million” was reflected in the signs held by Japantown residents as a motorcade carrying his remains to City Hall passed by on Wednesday.
“From the very beginning of our family, we didn’t use the word step,” said Bob Brantner, whose mom, Deni, married Mineta in 1991. “In Norm, I didn’t get a stepdad, I got a new dad.”
U.S. Rep. Mike Honda considered Mineta his mentor, watching as he started a new tradition for West Coast members of congress to fly back to their districts for the weekend. “It was very important for him to be present in San Jose,” Honda said. “He loved San Jose and he loved Japantown.”
Mineta also was the kind of leader who inspired loyalty. In the weeks since his death, an A-list team of former staffers and chiefs of staff came together with Les Francis and Mineta Transportation Institute Executive Director Karen Philbrick to plan a series of events that included memorials in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and San Jose, which included Wednesday’s motorcade procession through Japantown and a public ceremony at the City Hall rotunda. It was one last job for the boss they loved and respected.
“We wanted a tribute that we thought Norm would be proud of,” said Francis, who was Mineta’s chief of staff in Congress and served as master of ceremonies for Thursday’s memorial.
Former Santa Clara County Supervisor Rod Diridon Sr., a decades-long friend and colleague of Mineta’s, called him “the most impactful person in the history of San Jose.”
That judgment will be left to historians in the future. But Thursday, it certainly felt true.
Source: www.mercurynews.com