OLYMPIA — Go figure Gary Locke.

Tomorrow, Locke steps down after two terms as Washington's 21st governor. He leaves office nearly 22 years to the day since he was sworn in as a member of the state House, ending — at least for now — a storybook political career.

Flip through the pages of that story, however, and you'll see why Locke has so confounded those who have tried to label him, let alone understand him.

To business and labor, Locke has been both hero and villain. He's had bruising battles with Republicans but also frequently left his fellow Democrats feeling betrayed.

Many conservatives view him as a big-government liberal. Many liberals view him as, well, a conservative.

His stands on taxes and spending have shifted dramatically.

As a legislator, he supported one of the biggest business-tax increases in state history and frequently argued for imposing a personal income tax. As governor, however, he approved billions of dollars in tax breaks to big business and vowed to never support an income tax.

Two years ago, he engineered a no-new-taxes budget that eliminated raises for teachers and slashed spending on low-income health care. Now, on his way out the door, he's handing his successor a new budget that would restore many of those cuts and calls for hundreds of millions of dollars in new taxes.

Locke talked a lot about protecting salmon and staunchly supported the state's Growth Management Act. But he never really talked the language of environmentalists.

"We love this incredible environment in the Pacific Northwest," Locke said in a recent TV interview. "It's the environment and this pristine quality of life that has really attracted a lot of companies to the area."

He has championed civil rights and tough-on-crime measures. He is a big backer of social-service programs and preaches personal responsibility.

During his first year as governor, Locke joined with Republicans to enact landmark welfare-reform legislation — but only after they agreed that the program be open to immigrants.

"What I'm left with is the conclusion that he's a very complex man," said Tony Lee, longtime lobbyist for the Fremont Public Association. "I think there is a liberal Gary Locke and a conservative Gary Locke."

Locke would not disagree with that assessment of his split political personality. "I think that people always just assumed I was a liberal because I came from Southeast Seattle," said Locke, who is scheduled to give his farewell speech to the Legislature this afternoon.

Undefeated at the polls

Locke's political journey began in 1982, when he ran for a House seat in Seattle's 37th District, one of the most ethnically diverse and liberal in the state. After five terms in Olympia, Locke ran for King County executive in 1993 and defeated Republican incumbent Tim Hill.

In 1996, after embattled Gov. Mike Lowry opted to not seek a second term, Locke beat 14 other candidates to become the nation's first Chinese-American governor.

In every race Locke was overwhelming, winning 80 percent of the vote in his legislative races, nearly 60 percent in campaigns for county executive and governor.

It's doubtful things would have been as easy had Locke run for a third term. Midway through his first term, Locke's approval ratings exceeded 60 percent, according to Seattle pollster Stuart Elway. But after his 2000 re-election, his popularity fell along with the state's economy. His ratings bottomed out at 30 percent two years ago and remain below 45 percent, Elway said.

Last year, everyone running for governor ran against Locke's record. Even Democrat Christine Gregoire, guided by polls and focus groups, stressed the need for big changes and new leadership in Olympia.

"I took that as just the nature of politics," Locke said. "You have to differentiate yourself."

"Prudent yet bold"

As governor, Locke has been dogged by the charge that he lacks the vision of a true leader. Technocrat and tinkerer are two of the words most frequently used to describe him. He has been portrayed in cartoons as a limp rag-doll and as captain on a ship that remains tethered to the dock.

Some say it's just his low-key manner and his plain way of putting things. He once referred to his legislative agenda as "prudent yet bold."

When asked about his greatest achievements, he's as likely to mention shorter lines at the Washington state Department of Licensing as he is that some people credit him with keeping Boeing in Washington.

"I know it sounds corny, but people get frustrated when you have to wait 40 minutes or an hour to renew your driver's license," he said. "I think it's a big deal that we got it down to 10 minutes."

From both sides of the political aisle, Locke is praised for keeping state government running smoothly and scandal-free. Some say his two terms helped restore public trust that was wiped out by the sex scandals of politicians like Lowry and Brock Adams, a former senator from Washington.

But that's not good enough for many critics. "Locke is someone who will be remembered for his management of state government more than his leadership of state government," said David Rolf, president of the Service Employees International Union Local 775.

Indeed, in many areas that Locke set as top priorities — such as health care and transportation — the state has made only modest gains.

But education stands out as the place Locke's achievements failed the most to measure up to his promises.

Locke, who didn't speak English as a child and wound up attending Yale University on a scholarship, talked constantly about improving the state's education system.

"Education is the sword of democracy, the Excalibur of opportunity," he once said in a speech to the Legislature. But his most notable accomplishments have been things such as volunteer reading tutors and a college-scholarship program for middle-income students.

Locke says one of his biggest regrets is that he was not able to do more to increase education spending. A recent study ranked Washington 42nd out of 50 states for per-student spending on K-12 education. Meanwhile, the state's colleges and universities, unable to keep up with enrollment demands, are turning away more students than ever.

Four years ago, Locke proposed spending hundreds of millions of dollars to hire more teachers. When lawmakers balked, he repackaged his plan as Initiative 728, which voters overwhelmingly approved.

But two years later, with the state mired in recession and facing its worst budget shortfall ever, Locke shied away from raising taxes and instead opted to suspend I-728 and another voter-approved measure that provided raises for teachers.

Many Democrats and education officials were livid at Locke for ruling out new taxes. The state's biggest teachers union voted a few months later to withdraw its past endorsements of Locke and vowed to not support him if he were to run again.

"We were more than disappointed in the lack of courage he displayed," said Dave Scott, vice president of the Washington Education Association.

Hobbled by recession

Locke and his supporters blame circumstances for his inability to get more done. During seven of his eight years as governor, he had to deal with a Legislature that was at least partly controlled by Republicans. He had to govern at a time voters were simultaneously approving measures to increase spending and reduce taxes.

And after presiding over a rip-roaring economy during his first term, Locke faced an onslaught of troubles in 2001: an earthquake, an energy crisis, a strike by state employees, the jarring news that Boeing was moving its headquarters to Chicago. Then came the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, followed by Washington's deepest recession in decades.

"Given all those things that were thrown our way, we have made very steady but sure progress," he said. "From the beginning of the second term, we had to focus almost entirely on helping the economy."

That all came to a head in 2003, when Boeing made it clear Washington would have to compete with other states for its new jetliner, the 7E7. Locke's offer was nothing short of stunning: $3.2 billion in tax breaks over 20 years. He also sided with Boeing and big business on legislation to sharply reduce unemployment-insurance costs.

Labor leaders — except those representing Boeing machinists — continue to carry a grudge over the Boeing deal and accuse Locke of turning his back on working families.

But Locke's defenders say he will be remembered most for guiding the state through tumultuous economic times. "You only need to look to Oregon or California over the last couple of years to see how bad it could have been here," said state Democratic Party Chairman Paul Berendt.

Ralph Thomas: 360-943-9882