Oregon Public Broadcasting

President-elect Barack Obama has finished naming his cabinet. And he didn’t add anyone new from the Northwest to the mix.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates -- who is staying on -- has a home near Seattle.

Several prominent names were mentioned early on. One was former Washington Governor Gary Locke.

He confirms that he met with the Obama transition team in Chicago. One job they discussed: U.S. Trade Representative. But Locke says he supports Obama’s choice of former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk for that position.

Gary Locke: “I guess I’m more concerned about the fact that no one from the Pacific Northwest is going to be a member of his cabinet. We have a lot of great people here from the state of Washington and in fact the Northwest whether Oregon and Idaho.”

Locke specifically mentioned former Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber and Washington Congressmen Jay Inslee and Norm Dicks.

Locke says the absence of Northwest voices on the Obama cabinet is a loss for the region. Obama did choose Oregon State University Professor Jane Lubchenco to head the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – a sub-cabinet post.