Matt Fong dies at 57; former California state treasurer
The scion of a political family with deep roots in state politics, he ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 1998.
 Matt Fong acknowledges cheers at the state GOP headquarters after being elected California state treasurer in 1994. In defeating Democrat Phil Angelides, he became the first Asian American Republican to hold statewide office. (Los Angeles Times) |
Reporting from Sacramento -- Matthew Kipling Fong, a former California state treasurer who ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 1998, died Wednesday at his home in Pasadena after a long bout with skin cancer. He was 57.
Fong, a Republican, was the scion of a political family with deep roots in state politics. His mother, March Fong Eu, a Democrat, was elected to the state Assembly in 1966 and served as California's secretary of state from 1975 to 1994. She was later appointed U.S. ambassador to Micronesia by President Clinton.
Fong was born in Alameda on Nov. 20, 1953, and was reared in Oakland by his adopted parents, Eu and Chester Fong.
He was first exposed to politics working on his mother's campaigns. "When I was growing up, I remember every day after junior high for a couple of years, we rang doorbells," he said in a 1998 interview. "We walked almost every street in Oakland. We gave out those ugly potholders, and those bottle caps that never fit on any bottle."
He decided to register as a Republican in 1986, despite his family's Democratic Party ties. "The toughest part of the transition was telling my mother," he said. "She thought I was joking."
Four years later, Fong was encouraged by Pete Wilson, then a U.S. senator who was running for governor, to run for state controller against Democrat Gray Davis. Fong lost that race, but was later appointed to the Board of Equalization by Wilson, making Fong a rising star in state GOP politics.
Wilson remembered Fong on Wednesday as "a man of courage, of great intellect and a wonderful heart. He was a thoroughly decent, good man and one of the more talented public servants that I have been privileged to work with. I will miss him greatly."
In 1994, Fong again ran for statewide office, capturing the Republican nomination for state treasurer. Boosted by Wilson's landslide reelection and a national Republican tide, Fong defeated Democrat Phil Angelides, becoming the first Asian American Republican to hold statewide office.
In 1998, Fong bested car alarm magnate Darrell Issa in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, despite being outspent by more than 3 to 1, but lost a general election to Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer.
"In our Senate race years ago, Matt was a strong competitor and we debated passionately, but we always had respect for one another," Boxer said in a statement Wednesday.
After leaving elected office, Fong developed an interest in the issue of pensions, serving as a financial consultant and investor. In 2001, President George W. Bush appointed Fong to the board of a federal agency that helps administer pensions of more than 1.3 million private-sector workers and retirees.
Fong graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1975, and after serving on active duty until 1980 retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Air Force Reserve. His love of flying continued after leaving the academy. Fong was a licensed flight instructor and also was licensed to fly gliders.
He earned a master's degree in business administration at Pepperdine University, where he served on the board of regents until his death, and a law degree at Southwestern University School of Law, now known as Southwestern Law School.
In addition to his mother, he is survived by his wife, Paula; and their two children, Matthew Jr. and Jade.
Services are pending.
anthony.york@latimes.com
Fong, a Republican, was the scion of a political family with deep roots in state politics. His mother, March Fong Eu, a Democrat, was elected to the state Assembly in 1966 and served as California's secretary of state from 1975 to 1994. She was later appointed U.S. ambassador to Micronesia by President Clinton.
He was first exposed to politics working on his mother's campaigns. "When I was growing up, I remember every day after junior high for a couple of years, we rang doorbells," he said in a 1998 interview. "We walked almost every street in Oakland. We gave out those ugly potholders, and those bottle caps that never fit on any bottle."
He decided to register as a Republican in 1986, despite his family's Democratic Party ties. "The toughest part of the transition was telling my mother," he said. "She thought I was joking."
Four years later, Fong was encouraged by Pete Wilson, then a U.S. senator who was running for governor, to run for state controller against Democrat Gray Davis. Fong lost that race, but was later appointed to the Board of Equalization by Wilson, making Fong a rising star in state GOP politics.
Wilson remembered Fong on Wednesday as "a man of courage, of great intellect and a wonderful heart. He was a thoroughly decent, good man and one of the more talented public servants that I have been privileged to work with. I will miss him greatly."
In 1994, Fong again ran for statewide office, capturing the Republican nomination for state treasurer. Boosted by Wilson's landslide reelection and a national Republican tide, Fong defeated Democrat Phil Angelides, becoming the first Asian American Republican to hold statewide office.
In 1998, Fong bested car alarm magnate Darrell Issa in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, despite being outspent by more than 3 to 1, but lost a general election to Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer.
"In our Senate race years ago, Matt was a strong competitor and we debated passionately, but we always had respect for one another," Boxer said in a statement Wednesday.
After leaving elected office, Fong developed an interest in the issue of pensions, serving as a financial consultant and investor. In 2001, President George W. Bush appointed Fong to the board of a federal agency that helps administer pensions of more than 1.3 million private-sector workers and retirees.
Fong graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1975, and after serving on active duty until 1980 retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Air Force Reserve. His love of flying continued after leaving the academy. Fong was a licensed flight instructor and also was licensed to fly gliders.
He earned a master's degree in business administration at Pepperdine University, where he served on the board of regents until his death, and a law degree at Southwestern University School of Law, now known as Southwestern Law School.
In addition to his mother, he is survived by his wife, Paula; and their two children, Matthew Jr. and Jade.
Services are pending.
anthony.york@latimes.com
Copyright © 2011, Los Angeles Times
Former California Treasurer Matt Fong Dies
June 1, 2011 10:33 PM
Matt Fong. (AP)
SACRAMENTO (CBS / AP) — Former California state treasurer Matt Fong, a Republican who lost a challenge to Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer, died Wednesday after a four-year battle with cancer. He was 57.
His wife, Paula Fong, told The Associated Press that her husband died at their home in Pasadena with family and their son by his side. Matt Fong was the son of March Fong Eu, who served 20 years as secretary of state and was the first Asian elected to statewide office in California.
“He was alert up until this morning. He was asking what we’re going to do today,” Paula Fong said. “He was a great and wonderful person, a wonderful husband.” She said he had squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue.
Matt Fong, an attorney and a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force Reserve, was elected state treasurer in 1994 and served one term. In 1998, he unsuccessfully challenged Boxer for her Senate seat. Boxer issued a statement commending Fong for a distinguished career of public service.
“In our Senate race years ago, Matt was a strong competitor and we debated passionately, but we always had respect for one another,” Boxer said.
During that campaign, Boxer’s attack ads cast Fong as holding positions on abortion, gun control and the environment that were out of step with the majority of Californians. She started calling him “part of the extreme.”
In contrast, Fong presented himself as a social moderate. He believed, for example, that abortion should be legal during the first trimester.
He ran at a time when the party still favored centrist Republicans.
Fong, who was drawn by the party’s strong support of the military and small business, was able to edge out the more conservative candidate in the GOP primary. He ran against Darrell Issa, a wealthy car-alarm manufacturer who is now a member of Congress and chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
During the 1998 race, the San Francisco Examiner reported that Fong had donated $50,000 to a conservative religious group for a poll that would support a campaign against same-sex marriages in California. He then signed a one-page letter pledging to maintain AIDS funding and to support laws against hate crimes and job discrimination as a way to appease the Log Cabin Club, a gay Republican group.
Fong, also has Democratic ties through his mother. Eu was the first Chinese-American elected to the state Legislature and just the second woman elected to statewide office in California. She served as secretary of state for nearly 20 years before resigning in 1994 to become U.S. ambassador to Micronesia.
She sought the Democratic nomination for the job a second time, in 2002, but lost to Kevin Shelley.
Gov. Jerry Brown, who served with Eu during his previous stint in the governor’s office, expressed his condolences to the family. State senators adjourned Wednesday’s session in Fong’s memory and honored him for blazing the trail for other Asian-American politicians.
“On behalf of all Californians, I wish to express gratitude for the service that Mr. Fong provided to our great state during his term as treasurer,” Brown said in a statement.
Former Gov. Pete Wilson, a political mentor to Fong, remembered him for his intellect and heart. Wilson helped launch Fong’s political career when he appointed him to the state Board of Equalization in 1991.
“He was a thoroughly decent, good man and one of the more talented public servants that I have been privileged to work with,” Wilson said in a statement.
As state treasurer, he encouraged smaller firms to compete for lucrative underwriting and advisory work on state financing deals, started a program to teach money management skills to elementary students and helped prevent the Orange County bankruptcy from impacting other counties, according to Ron Rogers, who was Fong’s campaign manager.
Current state Treasurer Bill Lockyer, a Democrat, said Fong “never forgot he was managing taxpayers’ money and never failed to put their interests first.”
Fong also earned an award from the Simon Wiesenthal Center for persuading Swiss banks to provide restitution to Holocaust victims whose assets were being held by the banks.
After losing the U.S. Senate race, Fong went on to run his own consulting firm and served as counsel to the law firm Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton in Los Angeles, where he specialized in transactional law and governmental relations.
He recently celebrated his 33rd wedding anniversary with his wife. Last month, Fong was awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree from Southwestern Law School and delivered a commencement speech.
Paula Fong said her husband will be buried in Colorado Springs, Colo., where he attended the Air Force Academy. In addition to his wife and mother, Matt Fong is survived by his father, Chester Fong, his sister, Suyin Stein, daughter, Jade Fong, and son, Matthew Fong II.
(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services may have contributed to this report.)
His wife, Paula Fong, told The Associated Press that her husband died at their home in Pasadena with family and their son by his side. Matt Fong was the son of March Fong Eu, who served 20 years as secretary of state and was the first Asian elected to statewide office in California.
“He was alert up until this morning. He was asking what we’re going to do today,” Paula Fong said. “He was a great and wonderful person, a wonderful husband.” She said he had squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue.
Matt Fong, an attorney and a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force Reserve, was elected state treasurer in 1994 and served one term. In 1998, he unsuccessfully challenged Boxer for her Senate seat. Boxer issued a statement commending Fong for a distinguished career of public service.
“In our Senate race years ago, Matt was a strong competitor and we debated passionately, but we always had respect for one another,” Boxer said.
During that campaign, Boxer’s attack ads cast Fong as holding positions on abortion, gun control and the environment that were out of step with the majority of Californians. She started calling him “part of the extreme.”
In contrast, Fong presented himself as a social moderate. He believed, for example, that abortion should be legal during the first trimester.
He ran at a time when the party still favored centrist Republicans.
Fong, who was drawn by the party’s strong support of the military and small business, was able to edge out the more conservative candidate in the GOP primary. He ran against Darrell Issa, a wealthy car-alarm manufacturer who is now a member of Congress and chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
During the 1998 race, the San Francisco Examiner reported that Fong had donated $50,000 to a conservative religious group for a poll that would support a campaign against same-sex marriages in California. He then signed a one-page letter pledging to maintain AIDS funding and to support laws against hate crimes and job discrimination as a way to appease the Log Cabin Club, a gay Republican group.
Fong, also has Democratic ties through his mother. Eu was the first Chinese-American elected to the state Legislature and just the second woman elected to statewide office in California. She served as secretary of state for nearly 20 years before resigning in 1994 to become U.S. ambassador to Micronesia.
She sought the Democratic nomination for the job a second time, in 2002, but lost to Kevin Shelley.
Gov. Jerry Brown, who served with Eu during his previous stint in the governor’s office, expressed his condolences to the family. State senators adjourned Wednesday’s session in Fong’s memory and honored him for blazing the trail for other Asian-American politicians.
“On behalf of all Californians, I wish to express gratitude for the service that Mr. Fong provided to our great state during his term as treasurer,” Brown said in a statement.
Former Gov. Pete Wilson, a political mentor to Fong, remembered him for his intellect and heart. Wilson helped launch Fong’s political career when he appointed him to the state Board of Equalization in 1991.
“He was a thoroughly decent, good man and one of the more talented public servants that I have been privileged to work with,” Wilson said in a statement.
As state treasurer, he encouraged smaller firms to compete for lucrative underwriting and advisory work on state financing deals, started a program to teach money management skills to elementary students and helped prevent the Orange County bankruptcy from impacting other counties, according to Ron Rogers, who was Fong’s campaign manager.
Current state Treasurer Bill Lockyer, a Democrat, said Fong “never forgot he was managing taxpayers’ money and never failed to put their interests first.”
Fong also earned an award from the Simon Wiesenthal Center for persuading Swiss banks to provide restitution to Holocaust victims whose assets were being held by the banks.
After losing the U.S. Senate race, Fong went on to run his own consulting firm and served as counsel to the law firm Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton in Los Angeles, where he specialized in transactional law and governmental relations.
He recently celebrated his 33rd wedding anniversary with his wife. Last month, Fong was awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree from Southwestern Law School and delivered a commencement speech.
Paula Fong said her husband will be buried in Colorado Springs, Colo., where he attended the Air Force Academy. In addition to his wife and mother, Matt Fong is survived by his father, Chester Fong, his sister, Suyin Stein, daughter, Jade Fong, and son, Matthew Fong II.
(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services may have contributed to this report.)
