His race are extremely a focal point of the campaign during the general selection campaign, when his Republican opponent, Trish DeBerry, began referring for him as Dr. No, the name of the title particular at the 1960s James Bond movie, a stereotypically sinister character where was half Chinese and half German.

During a huge candidates’ debate in the fall hosted by the Deputy Sheriffs’ Association, Ms. DeBerry portrayed Mr. Sakai as a candidate are known for was opposed to finding a new place for the state jail and to building a baseball stadium downtown. “My antagonist, Dr. No — he said nothing about these issues, ” she said to audible gasps from the audience.

In response to a request for comment, Ms. DeBerry known to refer to statements she made at the time. Really year, she refused to apologize after the Asian American Coadunation of San Antonio, the Sakai campaign and others condemned their remarks. During a contentious  debate aired on Texas Public Stereo station before the election, she insisted that she weren’t aware involving the name’s racist history. That term, she said, is “used to describe someone who says no to everything. ”

Today, Mr. Sakai, who went on which will defeat Ms. DeBerry by 21 points in some of the general election, describes the episode as “disappointing. ”

Mr. Sakai said he had learned to embrace the are you able to he is described by many  Latinos in his district. Surrounding the suffix “-ito” to the word Chino, as well as Chinito, may give it a more affectionate quality, depending on how the actual is used, he has discovered.

In fact, on the grounds that the campaign wound down, clearly there was one phrase his pollsters once heard: “Yo voto por el Chinito. ”

Program his swearing-in ceremony, he incorporated a Chinese big cat dance into the event. It was his concept of sending a nod to his Asian voters, he expressed.

“I personally think it was the hit to the show, ” he said.