Kyle Mark Takai (July 1, 1967 – July 20, 2016) was an American politician from the state of

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

who served in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, representing , from 2015 to 2016. He served in the

Hawaii House of Representatives The Hawaii House of Representatives () is the lower house of the Hawaii State Legislature. Pursuant to Article III, Section 3 of the Constitution of Hawaii, amended during the 1978 Hawaii State Constitutional Convention, 1978 constit ...

from 1994 to 2014. A native of

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

, Takai last served in the Hawaii Army National Guard as a lieutenant colonel and took part in

Operation Iraqi Freedom The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...

in 2009, concurrent with his political career. He became the Democratic Party nominee for the U.S. House in the 2014 elections, defeating former Congressman Charles Djou to win the seat. Takai announced in May 2016 that he would not seek reelection due to ill health; he died from cancer two months later.

Early life and education

Takai was born in

. He received his diploma from Pearl City High School in 1985, where he was a four-time high school swimming champion and a high school All-American swimmer. Takai received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in political science and a

Master of Public Health The Master of Public Health (MPH), Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH), Master of Medical Science in Public Health (MMSPH) and the Doctor of Public Health (DrPH), International Masters for Health Leadership (IMHL) are interdisciplinary profes ...

degree from the

University of Hawaii at Manoa A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

. At the university, Takai was a

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the Western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...

champion swimmer, president of the Associated Students of the University of Hawaii, and editor-in-chief of the campus newspaper. He was a member of the 1998 class of the Pacific Century Fellows.

Political career

Takai was first elected to the

in 1994, representing the 34th house district of Pearl City, near

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

. He was reelected eight times before shifting to represent the 33rd house district of Aiea in 2012. Takai chaired the House Committee on Culture and the Arts from 1997 to 2000. He also served as vice chair of the House Committee on Higher Education (1995–2002) and as chair in 2003–2004. Additionally, he chaired the House Committee on Veterans, Military, & International Affairs, & Culture and the Arts. During the 2005 and 2006 sessions, Takai served as Vice Speaker of the House. Takai left his 20-year tenure as a state representative to become the Democratic nominee for the

for in the 2014 elections, after

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

Colleen Hanabusa's decision to run for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

. He won the election with 51.2% of the vote, defeating Republican nominee Charles Djou. In November 2015, he introduced the Atomic Veterans Healthcare Parity Act, extending federal compensation to those made sick by involvement in cleanup operations after bomb tests on Pacific islands.

Committee assignments

* Committee on Armed Services ** Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces ** Subcommittee on Strategic Forces * Committee on Small Business ** Subcommittee on Agriculture, Energy and Trade ** Subcommittee on Contracting and Workforce (Ranking Member)

Military service

Takai was commissioned as first lieutenant in the Hawaii Army National Guard (HIARNG) on July 19, 1999, and worked as the Preventive Medical Officer. He was the Division Chief for Soldiers Services and a School Liaison for the HIARNG. He later became a lieutenant colonel on May 14, 2013. Takai also served as the President of the Hawaii National Guard Association and the President of the National Guard Association-Hawaii Insurance, Inc. Takai was called to active duty for six months (May to November 2005) and served as the Hawaii Army National Guard Deputy State Surgeon. He later served as the Company Commander of Charlie Company (Medical), 29th Brigade Support Battalion from November 2006 to May 2008. Takai was posted abroad during

as the Base Operations Officer (Camp Mayor) at Camp Patriot, Kuwait, from February 2009 to September 2009. Among his numerous awards and decorations, Takai received the Meritorious Service Medal from the United States Army in 2009, the Distinguished Service Medal from the National Guard Association of the United States in 2011, and the Hawaii Distinguished Service Order in 2012.

Illness and death

Takai was diagnosed with a small tumor on his pancreas in late October 2015. On May 19, 2016, he announced that he would not seek reelection because his cancer had spread, but vowed to serve the remaining eight months of his term. He died two months later at his home in Aiea. He was 49. He was survived by his wife, Sami, and their two children. In 2018, Takai was posthumously inducted into the Hawaii Swimming Hall of Fame.

References

External links

Campaign site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Takai, Mark 1967 births 2016 deaths 20th-century American Episcopalians 21st-century American Episcopalians 21st-century Hawaii politicians American military personnel of Japanese descent Asian American and Pacific Islander state legislators in Hawaii Members of the United States House of Representatives of Asian descent Burials at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific Deaths from cancer in Hawaii Deaths from pancreatic cancer in the United States Democratic Party members of the Hawaii House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Hawaii Hawaii National Guard personnel Hawaii politicians of Japanese descent Hawaii Rainbow Warriors swimmers Members of the United States Congress of Japanese descent National Guard (United States) officers Politicians from Honolulu Protestants from Hawaii Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States) Swimmers from Hawaii University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni United States Army colonels United States Army personnel of the Iraq War 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Hawaii State Legislature 21st-century members of the Hawaii State Legislature