Before he became a honcho in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Ron Sims was King County executive for three terms and was on the county council before that. So it's sometimes easy for folks to forget that he has Spokane roots.

Sims, however, does not. As the White House blog marks Black History Month with stories of African Americans “contributing to President Obama's goals for winning the future,” his is one of the biographies posted.

And it starts with Sims saying that all people are shaped by where they grew up and “I grew up in Spokane, Washington, which is in the eastern part of the state, and had the opportunity to attend what is now known as Central Washington University.  My parents were engaged in the community, and in the weight of things, I am James and Lydia Sims’ son through and through.”

The Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee approved the nomination of King County Executive Ron Sims for a high-ranking job in the Obama administration.

Sims has been nominated for the No. 2 spot at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Sen. Patty Murray’s office announced Sims got a unanimous voice vote approval from the committee. He must now get approval of the full Senate, but that vote has not yet been scheduled.