Bob Matsui
Chair of theDemocratic Congressional Campaign Committee
In office January 3, 2003 – January 1, 2005
Leader	Nancy Pelosi
Preceded by	Nita Lowey
Succeeded by	Rahm Emanuel
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia
In office January 3, 1979 – January 1, 2005
Preceded by	John E. Moss
Succeeded by	Doris Matsui
Constituency	3rd district (1979–1993) 5th district (1993–2005)
Treasurer of theDemocratic National Committee
In office September 8, 1991[1] – May 17, 1995[2]
Preceded by	Robert Farmer
Succeeded by	Robert Scott Pastrick
Member of theSacramento City Council from the 8th district
In office November 1971[3] – November 8, 1978[4]
Succeeded by	Patrick Donovan
Personal details
Born	Robert Takeo Matsui (1941-09-17)September 17, 1941 Sacramento, California, U.S.
Died	January 1, 2005(2005-01-01) (aged 63) Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.
Resting place	East Lawn Memorial Park East Sacramento, California
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Doris Okada ​ (m. 1966)​
Children	1
Education	University of California, Berkeley (BA) University of California, Hastings (JD)
Bob Matsui's voice Bob Matsui speaks in support of the Social Security Protection Act of 2004 Recorded February 11, 2004

Robert Takeo Matsui (September 17, 1941 – January 1, 2005)^[5] was an American politician from the state ofCalifornia. Matsui was a member of theDemocratic Party and served in theU.S. House of Representatives as thecongressman forCalifornia's 5th congressional district from 1979 until his death at the end of his 13th term.^[5][6]

TheRobert T. Matsui United States Courthouse inSacramento is named in his honor.^[7]

Athird-generationJapanese American, Matsui was born inSacramento, California,^[5] and was six months old when he and his family were taken from Sacramento andinterned by the U.S. government at theTule Lake War Relocation Center in 1942.^[8]

Matsui graduated from theUniversity of California, Berkeley, in 1963 with aB.A. in political science, and then from theHastings College of Law in 1966.^[5] He founded his own Sacramento law practice in 1967.^[8]

In 1971, Matsui was elected to theSacramento City Council.^[8] He won re-election in 1975 and became vice mayor of the city in 1977.^[8]

In 1978, Matsui ran for the Democratic nomination in what was then the 3rd district after 12-term incumbentJohn E. Moss announced his retirement. He won a five-way Democratic primary with 36 percent of the vote, besting a field that includedState Assemblyman Eugene Gualco andSacramento MayorPhil Isenberg.^[9]

He defeatedRepublican Sandy Smoley with 53 percent of the vote.^[10] He would never face another contest nearly that close in what has long been the most Democratic district in interior California, and would be reelected 13 times. After his initial contest, he never dropped below 68 percent of the vote. He was reelected in 1982 with no major-party opposition, and was unopposed in 1984.^[11] His district was renumbered as the 5th district after the 1990 census.

In 1988, Matsui succeeded in helping pass theCivil Liberties Act of 1988, which produced an official apology from the Federal government for theWorld War IIinternment program and offered token compensation to victims. He was also instrumental in the designation ofManzanar internment camp as a national historic site and in obtaining land in Washington, D.C. for the memorial to Japanese-American patriotism in World War II.^{[citation needed]}

He was a chairman of theDemocratic Congressional Campaign Committee,ranking member of theUnited States House Committee on Ways and Means, and third-ranking Democrat on theWays and Means Committee. During his term he was noted for his staunch opposition to privatization ofSocial Security. He had a mostly liberal voting record having opposed the Defense of Marriage Act, the ban on partial-birth abortions, and the Private Securities and Litigations Reform Act.^{[citation needed]}

In what would be his last election,2004, he faced Republican Mike Dugas and easily won a 14th term with 71.4% of the vote, compared to Dugas' 23.4%. Opponents Pat Driscoll (Green Party) and John Reiger (Peace and Freedom Party), won 3.4% and 1.8% of the vote, respectively.^[12] (DCCC chairs are chosen in part because they are not expected to face serious competition for re-election.)

He was married toDoris Okada who, until December 1998, worked as deputy assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Public Liaison for PresidentBill Clinton, leaving to become senior advisor and director of government relations at the firm of Collier Shannon Scott, PLLC before winning election to her late husband's seat. The Matsuis had one son, Brian, who received his undergraduate andJuris Doctor degrees fromStanford University.

On December 24, 2004, Matsui enteredBethesda Naval Hospital withpneumonia.^[6] It was a complication frommyelodysplastic syndrome, a rarestem cell disorder that causes an inability of thebone marrow to produce blood products, such asred blood cells,white blood cells andplatelets. He died of pneumonia on January 1, 2005.^[13][14]

In the special election on March 8 to fill the vacant seat, Matsui's widowDoris won with over 68 percent of the vote;^[15] she was sworn in on March 10, 2005.^[16]

• List of Asian Americans and Pacific Islands Americans in the United States Congress
• List of members of the United States Congress who died in office (2000–present)#2000s

• United States Congress."Bob Matsui (id: M000249)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Robert T. Matsui Legacy Project Road to Redress and ReparationsArchived September 11, 2015, at theWayback Machine atCSU Sacramento
• Campaign finance data from the 2004 election
• Robert T. Matsui Annual Writing Competition atAsian Pacific American Bar Association Educational Fund
• Appearances onC-SPAN
• Bob Matsui atFind a Grave

• 1941 births
• 2005 deaths
• 20th-century American lawyers
• 21st-century American politicians
• United States representatives of Asian descent
• California lawyers
• California politicians of Japanese descent
• Deaths from cancer in Maryland
• Deaths from myelodysplastic syndrome
• Deaths from pneumonia in Maryland
• Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California
• Japanese-American internees
• Members of the United States Congress of Japanese descent
• Sacramento City Council members
• City council members of Asian descent
• University of California, Berkeley alumni
• University of California College of the Law, San Francisco alumni
• Democratic National Committee treasurers
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