Obama chooses Locke to run Commerce Dept
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| Wed, 02-25-2009 - 1:36pm |
By LIZ SIDOTI
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama introduced former Washington Gov. Gary Locke as his nominee for Commerce secretary Wednesday, trying a third time to fill a key Cabinet post for a country in recession.
"I'm sure it's not lost on anyone that we've tried this a couple of times. But I'm a big believer in keeping at something until you get it right. And Gary is the right man for this job," Obama said, standing with the fellow Democrat in the Indian Treaty Room at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building near the White House.
If confirmed by the Senate, Locke would assume control of a large agency with a broad portfolio that includes overseeing many aspects of international trade, the 2010 national head count and oceans policy.
Locke, 59, was the nation's first Chinese-American governor, serving two terms in Washington from 1997 to 2005. He currently works for the Seattle-based law firm Davis Wright Tremaine on issues involving China, energy and governmental relations.
Locke still must get through Senate confirmation hearings to assume the post, and there are a number of issues over which he may face questions.
He was briefly linked to the scandal over foreign contributions to President Bill Clinton's 1996 campaign. Locke denied any wrongdoing, and he subsequently returned some checks tied to people implicated in the matter.
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.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420ap_obama_commerce.html





