Talk:Gary Locke

Name

If he's a third-generation Chinese-American, what is the significance of his Chinese name? Surely his name was Gary Locke from his birth or NOT??????????????? Luo was only the family name of his ancestors, who changed it to Locke long before his birth. And where does the Jiahui come from? Is this a standard translation of Gary, or was he given this name unofficially, while officially being registered as Gary? --Wik 00:56, Aug 18, 2003 (UTC)

If he's a third generation "Chinese American", then why even bother to prefix his ethnicity with "Chinese"? Why not just call him an American? 66.63.126.171 20:42, 13 Mar 2004 (UTC)fff

Locke is the Cantonese pronunciation of the surname 駱 (see Luo (surname)), though it's usually romanized as Lok. His ancestry is from Guangdong, which is a Cantonese-speaking area. I believe his Chinese given name 家輝 was given to him by his parents. Although it's technically unofficial since U.S. official records don't keep track of Chinese names, this is the name that is always used by the Chinese press. Also, it's not unusual for Chinese-American parents to choose Chinese and Western names that sound alike for their children. --Umofomia 23:17, 29 Mar 2005 (UTC)

I'd like to see him described as "American" rather than "Chinese American", but it might be useful to put in a note about his ancestry. WMMartin 19:58, 30 Mar 2005 (UTC)

I think the current wording of the article is fine. The term "Chinese American" is only mentioned twice and in appropriate contexts. The first one refers to the fact that he's the first Chinese-American governor, which is a notable fact that people often cite and probably shouldn't be elided due to fear of political correctness. Similarly, many notable African Americans are referred to as "the first African-American so-and-so" even though they've been "Americans" for over 10 generations... why have a double standard? The second mention of the term refers to his ancestry, which I think is appropriate as well. --Umofomia 23:29, 30 Mar 2005 (UTC)

I had the pleasure of sitting next to Gary at a Mariners game (M's won 9-1 over the Indians) and he said that he is quite enjoying life out of office. He spent most of his time showing his boy Dylan the play of the game. We talked about the M's and the new gas tax a bit. All of the people around us kindly let him enjoy the game with his family but most did thank him for his good service to Washington State. All in all he was just another guy taking his family to the game.

Yeah, during our last election debacle, I was hoping they could find a way to just make Gary stay in office. On topic, I agree that the article is appropriate in discussing his ethnicity. Being the first Chinese-American governor was notable and noted, both by Asian-Americans and Asians, as a milestone achievement. He even used it to help bring closer trade ties between Washington state and China. So, it bears mentioning. - Bert 171.159.64.10 22:40, 14 March 2006 (UTC)

It does seem strange and artificial to include Chinese characters for his name. If you look to articles about American politicians of Japanese descent it doesn't include their characters, or the katakana used to transliterate their names in the Japanese press. For example, California Rep. Mike Honda is not mentioned as "マイク　ホンダ”. It's one thing for a naturalized American of Chinese/Taiwanese etc.-birth to be included, but an American who has Chinese heritage several generations back seems inappropriate. Also it's not sourced. Penser 04:16, 20 March 2007 (UTC)penser

The Chinese name should be included in the body of the article, but I'm not sure about putting it front and center. At the very least, it should appear after a first paragraph. Xiner (talk, email) 02:25, 22 March 2007 (UTC)

The "Mike Honda" example is not very analogous. "マイク　ホンダ" is not a real Japanese name, just a Katakana spelling of an English name. In contrast, "駱家輝" is an actual Chinese name, which is given to him by his parents. How many generations back his forebears have been Americans is irrelevant; "American" does not mean "English monolingual". cab (talk) 01:07, 31 May 2010 (UTC)

Picture of his family

I've removed the picture of him with his family. It was improperly labeled as the work of the US federal government - it is actually copyrighted by the Washington State Office of the Governor.[1] WP does not have permission to use this and the picture will likely be deleted from Commons where it was uploaded. Hong Qi Gong (Talk - Contribs) 14:52, 2 March 2009 (UTC)

Date he assumed office

Someone keeps claiming that Locke hasn't actually assumed office yet because he hasn't been sworn in. But I'm not sure he's right. Isn't senate confirmation the final hurdle? Isn't swearing in just ceremonial? Every other member of Obama's cabinet is listed as assuming office on the date of their confirmation, not the date of their swearing in. Is there something different in this circumstance? Am I missing something? Or am I right that he technically assumed office when he was confirmed by the senate? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.66.68.141 (talk • contribs) 2009-03-25T01:27:25

Bush had nominees confirmed to take office the day he was made president, these people couldn't have taken office in the old administration. So I think confirmation is not the same thing. For Congresspeople and the President the constitution sets the beginning of the tenure, but for other people it's more complicated. The appointments of, say, Kirsten Gillibrand and Roland Burris show that it matters when you are sworn in (look at their congressional bios). Some other administration people I looked at (Hilda Solis, Hillary Clinton) had swearing ceremonies the same day with judges, this is why it's the same date for them. With Locke, it's possible he is already sworn in, but until info shows up, it should be reverted. The discussion in the date comment is unnecessary, too. Hekerui (talk) 02:25, 25 March 2009 (UTC)

The post of Commerce secretary is still described as vacant on the commerce website. Hekerui (talk) 12:49, 26 March 2009 (UTC)

2004 Primary?

Why is there a paragraph on Phil Talmadge challenging Locke in 2004 when the latter was already term-limited? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.180.55.143 (talk) 06:27, 30 October 2009 (UTC)

10th in Line?

If he's 10th in line, were his parents both citizens at the time of his birth? I have a personal current problem with my own ancestry because of this. (No, I don't mean running for POTUS or being in line or anything, it's something else altogether). Just wondering, just to make he's the real 10th in line with anything stopping him in that area. Apple8800 (talk) 17:43, 15 March 2011 (UTC)

Gary Locke's backpack and relevance of being Chinese - American

Having looked at the picture of Locke wearing the backpack, I must admit it creates a picture of a person with certain down to earthiness and humility, a contrast to the "haughty - how important I am" image projected by many politicians. On the relevance of describing Locke as being of Chinese ancestry, Chinese born American (CBA) ... his wife Mona Lee being 1st generation CBA is a lot closer to having a claim than Locke who is 3rd genertion CBA. If this is going to talk about it it should elaborate - give some justification ... how important is it (to the job of Ambassador to China); on what basis is it important; to whom is it important especially re his Chinese counterparts in Beijing. Does Locke read and write Chinese, more important does he speak Mandarin - Locke's ancestors are Cantonese which is a totally different spoken language although Chinese characters are generally the same. Will Beijing CCCP officials or local Chinese citizens be impressed with a 3rd generation CBA with kids named Emily Nicole, Dylan James, and Madeline Lee. More important does the role of representing the US strategic interests, e.g., shaping and executing American interests/soft power with China benefit or is having "Chinese looking" CBA merely cosmetic, similar to placing Stephen Chu as Secretary of Energy because he won a Nobel Prize in Physics (therefore he must be a super intelligent choice by ... to head the Energy department). Any idiot can understand that doing bench scale research on the physics of laser cooling at the molecular level isn't a resume / criteria for running an Energy department. Chu's selection was a poster - bobblehead propaganda tool to mesmerize the public into feeling that this is a smart choice - actually it was not - it was a very bad choice. One propaganda tool is "referring to the experts," although it is not clear to what extent attitudes and opinions can be propagated by an image of prestige, it seems certain that "prestige" or in Locke's case "appearing Chinese" plays some kind of role. It is unclear if "appearing Chinese" is best for managing American interests on the international stage. Overemphasis on appearances and use of props (Warren Buffet's secretary?) as well as throwing up "false choices" (you are either for the middle class or against tax increases for the 1% "fat cats" appears to be modus operandi of some current American politicians. Thinking people will see through this sort of thing. Danleywolfe (talk) 18:25, 12 May 2012 (UTC)