Gary Locke | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2009 | |||||||||||||
| President ofBellevue College | |||||||||||||
Acting | |||||||||||||
| In office June 15, 2020 – July 1, 2023 | |||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Jerry Weber | ||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | David May | ||||||||||||
| 10thUnited States Ambassador to China | |||||||||||||
| In office August 16, 2011 – March 1, 2014 | |||||||||||||
| President | Barack Obama | ||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Jon Huntsman Jr. | ||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Max Baucus | ||||||||||||
| 36thUnited States Secretary of Commerce | |||||||||||||
| In office March 26, 2009 – August 1, 2011 | |||||||||||||
| President | Barack Obama | ||||||||||||
| Deputy | Dennis Hightower Rebecca Blank (acting) | ||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Carlos Gutierrez | ||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | John Bryson | ||||||||||||
| 21stGovernor of Washington | |||||||||||||
| In office January 15, 1997 – January 12, 2005 | |||||||||||||
| Lieutenant | Brad Owen | ||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Mike Lowry | ||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Christine Gregoire | ||||||||||||
| 5thKing County Executive | |||||||||||||
| In office January 3, 1994 – January 15, 1997 | |||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Tim Hill | ||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Ron Sims | ||||||||||||
| Member of theWashington House of Representatives from the37th district | |||||||||||||
| In office January 10, 1983 – January 3, 1994 | |||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Peggy Maxie | ||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Vivian Caver | ||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||
| Born | Gary Faye Locke (1950-01-21)January 21, 1950 (age 75) Seattle,Washington, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Political party | Democratic | ||||||||||||
| Spouse | |||||||||||||
| Children | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Education | Yale University (BA) Boston University (JD) | ||||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 駱家輝 | ||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 骆家辉 | ||||||||||||
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Gary Faye Locke (born January 21, 1950) is an American politician, attorney, and former diplomat from theState of Washington. Locke served as the21st governor of Washington from 1997 to 2005, where he was the first Chinese-Americangovernor as well as the firstAsian American governor in thecontinental U.S. During theObama administration, Locke served asSecretary of Commerce from 2009 to 2011, and asAmbassador to China from 2011 to 2014, the first Chinese American to serve in the role.[1]
First elected to theWashington House of Representatives in 1982, Locke went on to becomeKing County executive in 1993 before being elected governor in the1996 election. A former prosecutor by profession, Locke staked out a reputation as amoderate Democrat during his tenure.[2][3] Reelected in the2000 gubernatorial election, Locke was chosen by national Democrats to give the party's response to presidentGeorge W. Bush's 2003State of the Union address.[4] Locke declined to run for reelection in2004.[5]
From June 2020 until July 2023, Locke served as interim president ofBellevue College, the largest of the institutions that make up theWashington Community and Technical Colleges system.[6]
Gary Locke was born on January 21, 1950, inSeattle, Washington, and spent his early years living in theYesler Terrace publichousing project. Locke is a third-generationChinese American with paternal ancestry from Jilong village,Taishan,Guangdong.[7]
Locke is the second of five children of James "Jimmy" (Youh K.) Locke, who served as astaff sergeant in theU.S. Fifth Armored Division duringWorld War II. James Locke's wife, Julie, is fromHong Kong,[8] which at that time was aBritish Crown Colony. His paternal grandfather left China in the 1890s and moved to the United States, where he worked as ahouseboy inOlympia, Washington, in exchange forEnglish lessons.[9]
Locke's father was born on October 15, 1917, in Taishan, and moved to the United States in 1931. He died on January 5, 2011, at the age of 93.[10] Locke did not learn to speak English until he was five years old and entered kindergarten.[11]
Locke graduated with honors from Seattle'sFranklin High School in 1968. He achievedEagle Scout rank and received theDistinguished Eagle Scout Award from theBoy Scouts of America.[11][12] Through a combination of part-time jobs, financial aid, and scholarships, Locke attendedYale University, graduating with aBachelor of Arts inpolitical science in 1972.[13] He received hisJuris Doctor from theBoston University School of Law in 1975.
Locke has spoken of being inspired byWing Luke, a Chinese American attorney and politician from Seattle who died in a plane crash in 1965.[14][2]
In 1982, Locke was elected from a South Seattle district to theWashington House of Representatives, where he served as the chair of the Appropriations Committee. Eleven years later, in 1993, Locke was electedKing County's Executive, defeating incumbentliberal RepublicanTim Hill.
In 1996, Locke won theDemocratic primary and general election for governor of Washington, becoming the first Chinese American governor in United States history. His political committee was fined $2,500 by regulators in 1997 after admitting to state campaign finance law violations.[15]
Locke faced criticism from fellow Democrats for embracing theRepublican Party's "no-new-taxes" approach to Washington's budget woes during and after the 2001 economic turmoil. Among his spending-reduction proposals were laying off thousands of state employees; reducing health coverage; freezing most state employees' pay; and cutting funding for nursing homes and programs for thedevelopmentally disabled.
In his final budget, Locke suspended two voter-passed school initiatives and cut state education funding. Supported by the state's political left, formerWashington Supreme Court JusticePhil Talmadge announced his plans to challenge Locke in the 2000 Democratic primary, but Talmadge ended his campaign early for health reasons. Lockewent on to win reelection in 2000.
Locke was chosen to give his party's response toGeorge W. Bush's2003 State of the Union Address.[16] In a surprise move, Locke announced in July 2003 that he wouldnot seek a third term,[17] saying, "Despite my deep love of our state, I want to devote more time to my family."[17]
Susan Paynter, a columnist at theSeattle Post-Intelligencer, suggested that racist slurs, insults, and threats that Locke and his family received, especially after his rebuttal to Bush's State of the Union address, may have played a role in Locke's decision to leave office after two terms.[18] The governor's office received hundreds of threatening letters and emails; others threatened to kill his children.[18] His official portrait, painted byMichele Rushworth, was unveiled in the state capitol by GovernorChristine Gregoire on January 4, 2006.
After leaving office, Locke joined the Seattle office of international law firmDavis Wright TremaineLLP, in their China and governmental-relations practice groups. During the leadup to the2008 Democratic presidential primary, Locke was Washington co-chairman ofHillary Clinton'scampaign.[19]
On the national stage, Democrats saw Locke as a possible vice-presidential choice. In 1997, he was a guest at theState of the Union address.[20] During the2004 presidential election, Locke was seen as a potentialCabinet choice for Democratic nomineeJohn Kerry. Locke was mentioned as a potential contender forSecretary of Education orUnited States Trade Representative under a hypothetical Kerry administration.[5][21]
On December 4, 2008, theAssociated Press reported that Locke was a potential candidate forSecretary of the Interior in then-President-electBarack Obama's cabinet. Eventually, then-Colorado SenatorKen Salazar was nominated for that position instead.
On February 25, 2009, Locke was announced as Obama's choice forSecretary of Commerce,[15] and his nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate by unanimous consent on March 24.[22] Locke was sworn in March 26 by District JudgeRichard A. Jones,[23] and by Obama on May 1.
Locke was the first Chinese-American Secretary of Commerce, and one of three Asian Americans in Obama's cabinet, joiningSecretary of EnergySteven Chu andSecretary of Veterans AffairsEric Shinseki.Politico reported Locke was a popular cabinet member among both businesses and the executive branch.[24] A declaration of assets made in March 2011 showed Locke to be the sixth-richest official in the U.S. executive branch.[25]
Following the resignation ofJon Huntsman Jr., Obama nominated Locke to serve asUnited States Ambassador to China.[26] The Senate confirmed Locke unanimously on July 27, 2011;[27] Locke resigned as Secretary of Commerce on August 1.[28]
A photo of Locke carrying his own knapsack and ordering his own coffee at theSeattle-Tacoma International Airport went viral in China on theSina Weibosocial network, with many commentators approving of his humble, low-key style.[29] At his first news conference after arrival in Beijing, Locke pledged to promote bilateral cooperation and understanding between the two countries.[30]
Early in Locke's ambassadorship, Chinese dissidentChen Guangcheng escaped from house arrest and sought refuge in theU.S. Embassy in Beijing in April 2012. On May 2,China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs demanded an apology from the U.S. for its role in the incident.[31] In an editorial on May 4,Beijing Daily questioned Locke's motives by taking Chen in,[25] describing Chen as "a tool and a pawn for American politicians to blacken China."[32]
In late November 2013, Locke announced that he would step down as ambassador to spend more time with his family in Seattle. In an analysis of his ambassadorship, Sun Zhe, a professor atTsinghua University inBeijing, said, "It is not an easy job to be the American ambassador to China. Gary Locke is not a shining star, but a simple and unadorned ambassador." Shen Dingli, dean of the international studies department atFudan University inShanghai, largely concurred, commenting that Locke "showed us how a U.S. minister-level official behaves by taking economy-class flights" but "caused a twist" when he allowed Chen refuge in the U.S. embassy.[33]Max Baucus, a formerUnited States Senator fromMontana, was Obama's nominee to replace Locke and was confirmed by the Senate 96–0; Vice PresidentJoe Biden administered theoath of office on February 21, 2014.[34]
On February 17, 2016, Locke joined the board ofAMC Theatres.[35] After dumping more than $1.7 million in AMC stock in June 2021,[36] Locke was a named party in a shareholder lawsuit against the board in August 2023.[37]
On May 31, 2016, Locke joined the board of the Seattle-based global health nonprofitPATH.[38]
Locke has been a major proponent of affirmative action in Washington State. He publicly endorsed I-1000 in the 2019 Washington State general election. Those efforts were overturned by a majority of voters in the state of Washington in 2019.[39]
In 2020, an ad for the reelection of presidentDonald Trump portrayed Locke withJoe Biden and falsely suggested he was an official of theChinese Communist Party.[40]
Locke was tapped to be the interim president ofBellevue College on May 28, 2020, following the resignation of the college's president due to a controversial defacement of a campus mural.[6] He assumed the acting post on June 15, 2020.[41] On March 29, 2023, it was announced that David May would become permanent president.[42][41] May took office on July 1, 2023.[43]
In March 2021, local media speculated that Locke could run forMayor of Seattle in the2021 election. Commentators noted that this was unlikely, as he resided inBellevue, Washington, outside of Seattle city limits.[44] Locke chose not to run, instead endorsing the campaign ofBruce Harrell, who was elected.[45]
On November 16, 2023, Locke joinedDorsey & Whitney as a senior advisor.[46]
Locke's first marriage, to a law school classmate, ended with a divorce in the 1970s.[47] On October 15, 1994, Locke married Mona Lee, a television reporter for theNBC affiliateKING 5 television in Seattle and formerMiss Asian America 15 years his junior.[48] They divorced in 2015.[49][50]The Lockes have three children: Emily Nicole (b. March 1997), Dylan James (b. March 1999), and Madeline Lee (b. November 2004).[51] He is a Protestant.[52]
Regarding his ethnicity and being the only person of Chinese descent to have served as an ambassador to China, he said, "I’m proud of my Chinese heritage. I’m proud of the great contributions that China has made to world civilization over thousands of years. But I’m thoroughly American. I’m proud of the great values that America has brought to the entire world and all that America stands for."[53]
When asked if there is place for Asian Americans in politics, Locke had this to say:
"I think our native cultures have emphasizedrespect for our elders, care of our elders, but also focusing on education. But my overall response is that Asian Americans are part and parcel of the great success of America. Our grandparents came over in the 1800s to work in the railroads, work thelumber camps, goldmines, worked in the canneries, farmland that most people thought could never raise a crop, worked as merchants in cities that were just emerging. They fought in world wars, died for our freedoms and our liberties. Asian Americans have given our blood, sweat and tears to the communities and to this country. There's a prosperity that we on the west coast enjoy. So much of the prosperity and progress of the western states is because of the blood, sweat and tears of Asian Americans. From doing the dirty work to fighting in our world wars and contributing to our society now as doctors, researchers, people in high tech, as innovators, in all different professions. We have every right, indeed a responsibility, to help set the policies that will move our communities and our nation forward."[54]
Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi announced today that Governor Gary Locke of Washington state will deliver the Democratic response to President Bush's State of the Union address.
Gary Locke, the newly elected Governor of Washington State, is the first Chinese American governor in the history of our country. He's the proud son of two of the millions of Asian American immigrants who have strengthened America with their hard work, family values and good citizenship. He represents the future we can all achieve. Thank you, Governor, for being here. Please stand up.
| Washington House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theWashington House of Representatives from the37th district 1983–1994 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Executive of King County 1994–1997 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor of Washington 1997–2005 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Secretary of Commerce 2009–2011 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forGovernor of Washington 1996,2000 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theDemocratic Governors Association 2002–2003 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Response to the State of the Union address 2003 | Succeeded by |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to China 2011–2014 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former US Cabinet Member | Order of precedence of the United States as Former US Cabinet Member | Succeeded byas Former US Cabinet Member |
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| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | ||
| Chiefs of the U.S. Liaison Office inBeijing | ||
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | ||
See also:American Institute in Taiwan | ||
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