Gary Locke, President Obama’s latest nominee to fill the role of commerce secretary, is a former governor of Washington State who has solid environmental credentials.
"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 Wednesday in announcing the Democrat.
As the head of the Department of Commerce, Lock would oversee the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is responsible for fisheries management, the National Weather Service and climate research.
As a two-term governorfrom 1997-2005, Lock was one of the fist to institute climate change regulations in the absence of a federal policy under President Bush.
He supported a wide range of environmental issues addressed by the National Governors Association and in 2003 joined with the governors of California and Oregon in an effort to reduce greenhouse gases through purchases of hybrid vehicles, encouraging the development of renewable energy sources and energy-efficient appliances.
In 2005 he signed laws requiring new fossil-fuel power plants in the state to offset 20% of their carbon dioxide emissions.
As governor he also made the conservation of endangered salmon a priority and questioned the U.S. Navy’s use of sonar that was suspected of causing the deaths of porpoises north of Seattle.
Obama’s first two picks for the Commerce position–New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and New Hampshire Senator Judd Gregg–both withdrew from consideration.
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