Candidate for
Member of the State Assembly; District 20; Democratic Party

Dennis has devoted his entire life to serving the public and working to preserve individual civil liberties.

Dennis has served as the Director of the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, the largest civil rights agency in the country. The Department protects the rights of seniors, women, the disabled and minorities who face discrimination on the jobs, in housing, or in accessing public accommodations.

Dennis previously worked as the Director of the Office of Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. As one of the top ranking Asian American officials in the Clinton Administration, Dennis was responsible for ensuring that civil rights laws were enforced including the Age Discrimination Act, Americans with Disabilities Act and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.

While serving as Staff Attorney at the Asian Law Caucus, Dennis was a lead counsel in the famous civil rights case Fred Korematsu v. United States. Korematsu was convicted in 1942 for failing to obey World War II Japanese internment orders. Dennis and the legal team successfully argued to overturn Korematsu's conviction.

As the National Director of the Japanese American Citizens League, Dennis coordinated efforts urging the passage of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1991, and championed anti-hate laws in California to give hate crime cases priority for trial.

Dennis is a member of the Advisory Board of Directors, for the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He previously served on the California Commission on the Prevention of Hate Violence, the White House Commission on Asian Americans and the Board of Directors for the Child Care Law Center and San Francisco Coro Foundation.

Dennis Hayashi graduated from Occidental College and obtained his law degree from Hastings Law School in San Francisco.

He and his wife, Mary, live in Castro Valley.