WASHINGTON–Andrew Card, former White House Chief of Staff to President George W. Bush, led a distinguished list of Republicans and Democrats who turned up to honor former U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Yoshio Mineta at the 10th anniversary of the APIAVote, held on September 21 here.
APIAVote Executive Director Christine Chen said the gala would start "a new tradition of roasting those we love." But the evening was more of a toast, not a roast, of a man generously described by Card as a man of integrity, a great leader, a patriotic American and "one of the real heroes of 9-11." He recounted how "tens of thousands" on airplanes, trains and ships "found their safe place in our society that day," thanks in part to Mineta, working steadily from the White House "bunker."
Card ended his remarks by noting, "Our President is fond of you, our former President is too...but most of all, the American people thank you."
Mineta, a Democrat, served two Presidents from both parties. He was President Bill Clinton’s Secretary of Commerce. Until he stepped down recently, he was Secretary of Transportation under President Bush. In 1971, he became the first Asian Pacific American mayor of a
