Climbing Above the Culture Clash

cases. His transition into politics was
a steady upward climb, from state
representative to county executive to
the governor’s mansion in 1997.
As governor, Locke quickly developed
a reputation as a “New Democrat”:
socially liberal but fiscally conservative.
Calling education “the great equalizer,”
he reduced class size and created a
scholarship program for workingclass
families that reached 15 percent
of every graduating class in the
state. He also increased funding for
public colleges, which increased
faculty salaries and enrollment.
When the recession hit following
the 9/11 attacks, Locke had to freeze
many of these programs; but he
emphasizes that he never resorted to
laying off teachers, increasing class
size or cutting scholarship funding.
“I’m very proud of what we were able to
do in tough economic times,” he said.
During that same period Locke
instituted a subsidy program for
working people who could not get
health insurance from their employers,
and created a state-run food stamp
program when the federal government
slashed the national program. He
also earmarked $40 million to build
housing for migrant farm workers.
“I saw the conditions farm workers
and their families lived under and
realized that they are feeding the
United States and the world,” he
said. “The conditions reminded me
of my grandmother in Hong Kong,
and it just didn’t seem right.”
too. But his most lasting legacy may
be his dedication to opening foreign
markets for the state’s technology,
agriculture and service industries.
These skills, coupled with his reputation
as a detail-oriented manager, are what
prompted President Obama to make him
a part of his economic recovery team.
As U.S. secretary of commerce,
Locke has several short-term goals
which, although administrative in
nature, will have a long-term impact:
conducting an accurate 2010 U.S.
Census; cutting the four-year wait
for patent approvals to one year; and
launching new weather satellites to
be operated by the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration.
Among his top long-term goals is to
improve trade relations with China,
which he believes will have the
added benefit of giving the United
States more leverage in influencing
Chinese foreign policy and human
rights policies. To do this, he would
like to loosen several of the trade
restrictions that are currently in place.
Germany and Latin America. Many
of these restrictions simply deprive
the United States of sales and hurt job
creation in this country. We should
focus on strengthening restrictions on
those items that would have a clear
impact on national security and loosen
the restrictions on those products that
are readily sold in other countries.”
He added, “My position is that the
U.S. offers China highly valued
goods and services that can raise
the standard of living in China,
while creating jobs in America.
We can export technology for food
production, medical care, engineering
and education, as well as technologies
to reduce the carbon emissions that
contribute to global warming.”
Locke’s story is a decidedly American
one. It is tempting to wonder what
his grandfather would think — a
man who came to America briefly in
the late 1800s to work as a houseboy
a mile from the governor’s mansion
his grandson would one day inhabit.
Following his historic victory to become
governor of Washington in 1997,
“
I saw the conditions farm workers and
their families lived under and realized that
they are feeding the United States and the
world. The conditions reminded me of my
grandmother in Hong Kong, and it just didn’t
seem right.
”
During his eight years in office, Locke
developed a reputation as one of the
state’s most business-friendly governors.
Against the odds, he persuaded
Boeing, the state’s largest employer,
to manufacture its new 787 jetliner in
Washington, after the company had
put the project out to bid in other
states. And he prevented the Seattle
Seahawks from pulling up stakes,
“The Chinese recognize that the trade
imbalance is unhealthy; they want to
buy more U.S. products,” he said. “But
there are currently barriers to some of
what they want to buy. The National
Academy of Sciences has concluded that
some of these restrictions are counter
to U.S. interests because these items
can be easily bought from Canada,
Locke was fond of saying, “It took my
family 100 years to go one mile.”
But that one mile was just the
first step in a steady upward climb
that continues to this day. •
For more information on what Locke is accomplishing as
commerce secretary, see www.commerce.gov.
Fall 2009 | The Record | 19