Gary Locke: Governor Fix-It 4/6 | Asian American Personalities

Asian American Profiles

Gary Locke: Governor Fix-It

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GS: You had majored in poli sci at Yale. Had you made up your mind to enter politics?
GL: Not at all. I was searching around for a major. At that time I was thinking about urban planning and happened to take some courses in political science, especially around developing countries, and some political history, reading about the Cuban missile crisis and some other events. I just loved reading behind the scenes accounts of what was happening in the Johnson Administration or in various governments around the world, so I became fascinated with world political history. That was around the time of the Vietnam War protests and the Civil Rights Movement and I did not like the violence that was occurring. I felt that we should seek change through the law.

     So I decided to go to law school and thought that I would go into a practice that would help advance civil rights issues through the legal system and help improve communities through the law. It wasn't until many years later, after being a lawyer, that I started getting involved in Asian American political organizations and causes calling for equality in hiring and making sure that the issues of the community were heard and protecting social services and human services that affected Asian Americans. Through that I started volunteering on people's campaigns and just helping out, licking envelopes, doorbelling, putting up signs for them -- and really enoyed it.

     One day I had a chance to apply for a job as a lawyer for the state legislature and got hired. It was for just five months while the legislature was in session. I just came to realize that people in the legislature were everyday people from all walks of life, from all different backgrounds, and they were here because they wanted to make a difference in their communities. And I said, “If they can do it, why not me?”

GS: What issues were you dealing with?
GL: I was the attorney for the Higher Education Committee. I was also the editor for a booklet that summarized all the legislation that the senators were about to vote on.

GS: Was that the point at which you began considering running for the state legislature?
GL: Not until afterwards, but it was that exposure to Olympia and to government.

GS: You've been quoted as saying that your hero is John Kennedy. You've been compared to Bill Clinton. How do you feel about that?
GL: It's quite an honor in certain respects. I mean, Bill Clinton, President Clinton... First of all, the reason that I admire John F. Kennedy is I remember the speeches he gave: his inaugural address, his challenge to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade, his challenge to help developing countries and join the Peace Corps, his campaigns for physical fitness. There was a charm and a wit about him. And that was my first glimpse of political leaders.
     I think those early impressions last you a lifetime. But as a son of Chinese immigrants from Seattle, I never had a chance to meet or even come close to President Kennedy. And I remember, Oh, just how shocked I was... I was glued to the television set when he was assassinated. We were at school and everybody was sent home. For the next several days, just watching TV and watching his memorial service had a big impact on me.
     But of course I got to meet President Clinton. I've never come across a more eloquent, articulate speaker. I've never come across a man as brilliant or bright as President Clinton.

GS: You are compared to him because you seem to be a centrist. You don't seem to share the positions of most Democrats.
GL: I'm a pro-business democrat but also very much believe in the rights of labor and the benefits that organized labor have given us. So many things that we take for granted in the modern workplace and workday are because of the blood, sweat and tears of organized labor. We got the 40-hour week, vacations, health insurance benefits, unemployment benefits, workers compensation programs, pensions, and safety and health rules because of the blood, sweat and tears of labor. But I also know that we've got to provide jobs for people, and we've got to focus on economic development. And we've got to focus on education.

     I suppose I can be considered a liberal on many issues from a woman's right to choose to affirmative action to really expanding social service programs, especially for kids and seniors. I'm a centrist in terms of welfare reform. I believe in offering a hand to people in need. And Washington State has received so many awards year after year for how we've approached welfare reform. We don't kick people off in order to reduce caseloads. We reduce caseloads by helping people get a job, then a better job, then another job. And we provide subsidized childcare so that people can get a job and know that their families or their kids will be taken care of. So I'm liberal on some issues, support gay rights, but perhaps centrist on some others.

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GS: What do you think of the national welfare system?
GL: Our state of Washington was broke. When the feds announced welfare reform, they took away a lot of benefits for immigrants. I thought that was contrary to everything that our country stands for. When we put together our welfare reform, we were not required to go along with the federal welfare reform. We had actually received an exemption from our previous governor to continue our old welfare system for the next ten or 15 years. But I believed in welfare reform. However I did not support how the federal government or congress had passed measures that took away assistance for immigrants.
So as part of our welfare reform we used 100% state funds to continue benefits and provide other services to immigrants because I really believe that we're an immigrant nation. Except for native Americans, we're all immigrants whether we're first generation or tenth generation. Whether our ancestors came voluntarily or involuntarily. To deny benefits for immigrants who have been taxpayers, who are not U.S. citizens but are here legally, have contributed but are down and out and need some help -- how can we turn our backs on them?
I'm really pleased that a few years later Congress has repealed some of those punitive measures and now restored some of those benefits to immigrants. Let me say one more thing: I disagree with the administration's proposal to the extension of the welfare reform law. I think they're being way too punitive in imposing so many restrictions and conditioins on the states, on governments as well as recipients of public assistance, requiring people to work so many hours, or to engage in job search for so many hours at a time when there are fewer jobs available. That doesn't make sense. We've been very successful in moving peple off public assistance and helping them get jobs because of the flexibility that we have. What the administration is proposing by way of tougher conditions and more hoops and hurdles that everyone has to jump through and jump over and the more bureaucracy that will be required at the state level will, I think, undermine the success that all the states have had so far.

GS: Why did you begin the Democratic Response to the State of the Union Address by talking about your family?
GL: I think it's important for people to understand that who and what America is. That whether we're first or tenth generation, we're an immigrant nation and that we're all hear seeking opportunities and freedom. And people come to America in pursuit of freedom, hope and opportunity.

GS: Was it a reflection of your awareness that you're the highest-ranking Asian American? Was it a reflection of the responsbility you felt as an Asian American addressing a national audience?
GL: I thought it was important that they know who I am and a little bit of my background. But I also wanted to say that our family's journey is no different than the tens of millions of Americans out there, whether their parents or grandparents came from Ireland or Russia or Poland or Germany. PAGE 5