Gary Locke, the first Chinese American governor in the United
States, now enjoys the shift from the limelight to a private life,
but he remains active in public affairs and participates in
numerous Sino-American exchanges.
He came to Shanghai this month partly to support an IT company
Minfo.com, founded by a Chinese American, Alvin Wang Graylin, who
considers China the new land of opportunity.
"Many Americans, especially Chinese Americans, now see China as
the land of dreams, and there has been a reverse migration in
recent years," he says.
Locke was elected as the first Chinese American governor in the
history of the United States in 1996, almost 100 years after his
grandfather left his village in South China's Guangdong Province to set out for the land of
his dreams.
"He was the servant of a family in Washington State," Locke said
about the story of his grandfather Suey Gim Locke during his recent
visit to Shanghai, one week after he was named co-chair for Hilary
Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign.
"He cooked; he washed dishes; he swept the floors, and they
taught him English."
Then Suey Gim Locke went back to his poor village in Taishan, in
Guangdong, and married. After traveling back and forth several
times, he eventually brought his family over to the United States
for good.
Born in 1950 as the second of five siblings, Gary Locke grew up
in public housing for World War II veterans in Seattle, until his
family saved enough money to buy a restaurant, and later, a
market.
He recalled that his parents worked hard with almost no rest.
They sacrificed all their free time with the family, and even
missed experiencing their children growing up.
In 1968, Locke graduated with honors from Seattle's Franklin
High School, and through a combination of part-time jobs, financial
aid and scholarships, he attended Yale University, earning a
bachelor's degree in political science in 1972.
He went on to earn his law degree from Boston University's
School of Law in 1975 and worked for several years as a deputy
prosecutor in King County.
In 1993, Locke made history by becoming the first Chinese
American to be elected King County's County Executive, and three
years later, he won the gubernatorial election in Washington State,
where only 5 percent of the population were Asian Americans.
Locke called his election, "The Great American Dream", which
finally came true.
"You can live in a very poor family and become governor of State
Washington, or maybe president one day. You can start with very
poor education and be the president of Yahoo. Or, you can come from
a very poor family and be great figures here, like Michelle Kwan,"
he says with sparkles in his eyes.
Locke says in his inaugural address when he was officially sworn
in as governor that he was standing less than a mile from where his
family started their American life. But it took his family 100
years to make the journey.
Their struggle was successful because his family embraced three
values: Get a good education, work hard, and take care of each
other.
And they had big dreams.
During his term as governor, Locke has made it a priority to
appoint members of non-white ethnic groups to positions in state
government and has paid particular attention to the welfare of
immigrants.
He established a reputation as a hard worker and was always the
last to leave the office. Helan Zia, a journalist and scholar who
has covered Asian American communities and social and political
movements for decades, commented that Asian Americans across the
country look up to him.
In 2000, he was reelected to his second term by an overwhelming
margin. And many hope he will one day run for president.
But in 2003, Locke decided against seeking a third term, to the
surprise of many. He says that he wanted to focus more on his
family, and it was his Chinese heritage that made him decide.
"I try to be home almost every night. We always try to eat
dinner together, put them to sleep and read to the children before
they go to sleep."
(China Daily November 6, 2007)
