The Long Mile For Gary Locke

Gary Locke summed up his historic road to the governor’s mansion in one sentence: “One hundred years to travel one mile.”

In 1886, the new governor’s grandfather was working a mile away from the governor’s mansion in Olympia, laboring for a pioneer family in exchange for English lessons.

On Wednesday, Locke became the first Asian-American governor in the continental United States. “Although I may be standing less than a mile from where our family started its life in America, we’ve certainly come a long, long way,” Locke said.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo