(NAME-MCE) Obama's likely third pick for Commerce secretary is former Washington Gov. Gary Locke - nation's first Chinese-American governor

[Bill Howe]

Former Wash. governor may head Commerce
Former Washington governor would be Obama's third pick for post
 The Associated Press
updated 9:17 p.m. ET, Mon., Feb. 23, 2009

President Barack Obama's likely third pick for Commerce secretary is former
Washington Gov. Gary Locke, a senior administration official said Monday.

Locke, a Democrat, was the nation's first Chinese-American governor when he
served two terms in the Washington statehouse from 1997 to 2005.

Obama's expected choice of Locke arose less than two weeks after his most
recent pick, Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, backed out. Just
over a week after Obama named him and he accepted, Gregg cited "irresolvable
conflicts" with the policies of the Democratic president.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement has
not yet been made.

Obama originally gave the post, which requires Senate confirmation, to New
Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. He withdrew in January, before Obama took
office, after the disclosure that a grand jury is investigating allegations
of wrongdoing in the awarding of contracts in his state.

The Commerce post is typically not one of the more high-profile jobs in any
administration. The head of the department oversees agencies responsible for
the once-a-decade census, for oceans policy and for many aspects of
international trade, among other things.

The administration recently took steps to assert greater White House control
over the census. The outcome of the census has deep political implications,
since congressional districts are drawn on the basis of population.

But in Obama's administration, the delay in getting a Commerce secretary has
been top news in large part because it has been accompanied by other Cabinet
troubles. He still does not have a Health and Human Services secretary,
either. Former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle withdrew his nomination
for that post amid a tax controversy.

The loss of Gregg for the Commerce job also highlighted the difficulty Obama
has had reaching out to Republicans. Gregg would have been one of three
Republicans Obama had put in his Cabinet to emphasize his campaign pledge
that he would be an agent of bipartisan change. Despite those and other
efforts, Obama drew hardly any GOP support for his main legislative
priority, the stimulus package.

*Son of immigrants*
Locke, 59, was born into an immigrant family and lived in a Seattle public
housing project until he was 6. He graduated from Yale University, which he
attended with a combination of scholarships and financial aid, and Boston
University Law School.

Locke was briefly linked to the scandal over foreign contributions to
President Bill Clinton's 1996 campaign. In July 1998, he gave a deposition
to the House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight about his
relationships with questioned Clinton donors. But the committee subsequently
said the deposition produced no evidence that Locke knowingly accepted
illegal campaign donations.

Locke denied any wrongdoing, and he subsequently returned some checks tied
to people implicated in the fundraising scandal, including $750 from John
Huang. The former Commerce Department official was the Democratic Party's
chief fund raiser for the Asian-American population in the 1996 elections,
and he became one of the central figures in the national Democratic Party
fundraising scandal.

Also, in December 1997, Locke's political committee was fined a maximum
$2,500 by state regulators after it admitted breaking campaign finance laws
during two out-of-state fundraisers in 1996.

And in March 1998, state investigators cleared Locke of wrongdoing following
complaints that he unlawfully took $10,000 in campaign contributions from
members of a Buddhist church.

*China and law*
He lists among his accomplishments as governor a package of tax breaks that
persuaded The Boeing Co. to assemble its new 787 jetliner in Everett, north
of Seattle, and expanded transportation and construction budgets.

Since leaving office he's been working for the Seattle-based law firm Davis
Wright Tremaine on issues involving China, energy and governmental
relations. He argues that global engagement is a way to improve China's
human rights record and deal with piracy of intellectual property.

Locke is married to Mona Lee Locke, a former television news reporter who is
now executive director of the regional affiliate of the Susan G. Komen
Foundation, a breast cancer research and advocacy organization. They have
three children.
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URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29355278/