Mineta, 1st Japanese American in Cabinet, declined 1993 offer to join

Norman Mineta, who became the first Japanese American member of a U.S. Cabinet in 2000, declined an earlier offer to serve under President Bill Clinton as he preferred to continue working as a lawmaker, according to his wife.Mineta passed up Clinton's call to become transport secretary shortly after the president's inauguration in early 1993, saying, "I can do more for you" as chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Works and Transportation, Danealia Mineta said in a recent interview with Kyodo News.Seven years later, the Democratic congressman assumed the post of comme…READ FULL ARTICLE