Patsy T. Mink: “Today I want to remember a native son of Hawaii, Peter Avillanoza, who recently went to Oklahoma City to begin a new…”

“Today I want to remember a native son of Hawaii, Peter Avillanoza, who recently went to Oklahoma City to begin a new mission, as director of equal opportunity for the Department of Housing and Urban Development. He moved to Oklahoma City only a few months ago. He was 56 years old when he died in the senseless bombing of the Oklahoma City Federal Building. Peter Avillanoza cared passionately about the people he served. He was a pioneer. Peter was assigned by HUD to work in Honolulu to help people comply with fair housing laws. He had been working in HUD's Orange County, CA office. He didn't come in with a big regulatory stick and levy penalties. Instead, he prevented violations from occurring in the first place. For 2 years, he reached out into the community to encourage consumers and industry to buy into the concept of equal housing opportunity for all. He made sure everyone--residents, landlords, realtors, financiers and public officials--knew their rights and their responsibilities, before the law was implemented.”