President Obama Nominates Former Governor Gary Locke for Secretary of Commerce

This month, President Obama officially nominated former two-time Washington Governor Gary Locke for Secretary of Commerce.  Governor Locke was the first Chinese American governor in U.S. history and the first Asian American governor in the continental United States.  Locke is the third Asian American nominated for the Obama Cabinet, joining Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki and Energy Secretary Steven Chu.

Born into an immigrant family, Locke grew up in a public housing project for families of World War II veterans as a child.  He was an Eagle Scout, and through a combination of part-time jobs, financial aid and scholarships, Locke attended Yale University, earning a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1972.  

As Secretary of Commerce, Lock will play a key role on the Administration’s economic team.  He will be responsible for fostering and promoting the nation’s economic development at home.  He will also be facing the challenges of the 2010 census, and will be in charge of the Economic Development Administration, which invests in locally-developed, regionally-based economic development initiatives that directly contribute to economic growth.

2) Report Released: Renters in Foreclosed Properties May Face Homelessness

The National Low Income Housing Coalition and the National Law Center on Homeless & Poverty released a report titled, Without Just Cause, outlining the rights, and lack thereof, for renters in foreclosure in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.  Currently, 40% of families facing eviction due to foreclosure are renters whose landlords have defaulted on their mortgages.  The status of renters in foreclosure cases is a matter of state law, and the laws are complex and vary from state to state.  Many renters are often unaware of their rights as tenants. 

The report’s major findings show:
•    Only 17 states require any type of notice to tenants
•    Only 14 states and DC require a judicial process for foreclosure
•    In several states tenants may remain only if they are not named in the foreclosure preceding (FL, IO, WI, NY, OH)
•    Only NJ and DC explicitly preserve tenants’ rights in the lease after foreclosure

To download a copy of the report, click here. 

3) National CAPACD Hosts Successful Regional Meetings in Oakland and Los Angeles

National CAPACD hosted two successful meetings in Oakland and Los Angeles, California to share updates about the American Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and hear from our local members about their local initiatives and concerns.  The meetings were extensions of an affinity group organized by National CAPACD’s members in California at our 9th Annual Convention to strategize on how to build a statewide network in order to strengthen their state and local work efforts. 

In Los Angeles, 18 different organizations engaged in conversations on a range of topics including the state budget’s impact on affordable housing projects, the need for technical assistance dollars for small businesses, and efforts to address foreclosure rescue scams among many others.

In Oakland, 35 participants including National CAPACD members from Fresno and a representative from the City of Oakland shared their concerns about disinvestment in neighborhoods, the decreasing affordability of what was once considered affordable housing, the challenge of efforts to help homeowners modify delinquent mortgage loans and many more. 

These conversations will help inform the structure of the housing and community development track at the California AAPI Policy Summit organized by the Asian & Pacific Islanders California Action Network and National CAPACD’s federal policy priorities.