The late state Sen. Richard M. Matsuura today was awarded the Bettye Fahrenkamp Award for Distinguished Legislative Leadership on Behalf of Western States from the Council of State Governments—West.

Matsuura served in the House from 1981 to 1984 and in the Senate from 1985 to 1996. He died of cancer at age 64 in 1997. 

State Rep. Marcus Oshiro, who is chairman of the Council of State Governments—West, submitted Matsuura’s name for the award and cited Matsuura’s leadership in 1985 in establishing the Ocean Resources Committee of the Western Legislative Conference, and for serving as the original co-chair of the committee with former California Assemblyman Sam Farr, now a member of Congress.

 “Sen. Richard Matsuura’s leadership of the Ocean Resources Committee is only one of many dimensions and interests of this deeply committed public servant,” Oshiro said in a statement.  “His biography shows a lifetime of notable accomplishments, much of it based on his belief that achieving peace in the world and protecting of our environment are paramount.  Sen. Matsuura was a man of many dreams, and while not all of them became reality, the Hawaii legislature, our state and our country were improved due to his years of public service.”

The Fahrenkamp Award recognizes leaders whose legislative careers demonstrate the ability to see and work beyond the border of their own states in the interest of the West.  The award is named in honor of Bettye Fahrenkamp, of Fairbanks, who served with distinction in the Alaska state Senate until her death in 1991.