BLYN — Gary Locke — former Washington state governor, U.S. secretary of commerce and ambassador to China — will speak at the Clallam County Democrats’ annual fundraiser, the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Dinner.
The dinner will be from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, in Club Seven lounge at 7 Cedars Casino in Blyn.
Individual tickets are $55 if purchased before Saturday and $60 afterward. A table of eight costs $440 if purchased before Saturday.
Tickets can be purchased online at http://tinyurl.com/PDN-Rooseveltdinner or by sending a check to Clallam County Democrats, P.O. Box 2454, Port Angeles, WA 98362.
The evening will begin with a meet-and-greet from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and continue with a buffet dinner from 5:30 p.m. to 6:45 p.m.
The program in which Locke will give his keynote address will be from 6:45 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Locke, 65, stepped down from the post of ambassador to China in 2014 after becoming the envoy to China in 2011.
He now is working as a senior adviser and consultant to the Davis Wright Tremaine law firm in Seattle. He had been a partner in the firm from 2005 to 2009.
Locke served as U.S. secretary of commerce from 2009 to 2011.
He was elected governor in 1996, the first Chinese-American governor in the nation’s history, and was re-elected in 2000.
“As governor of Washington state, U.S. secretary of commerce and most recently as America’s envoy to China, Gary Locke has been a leader in the areas of education, employment, trade, health care, human rights, immigration reform, privacy and the environment,” the Democrats said in a news release.
Locke also was elected to the state House of Representatives in 1982 to represent Seattle’s 37th District.
Born in Seattle, Locke graduated from Yale and holds a law degree from Boston University.
He and his wife, Mona Lee Locke, have three children.
