Give Gregoire her due

Gov. Christine Gregoire, who has a lawyer's view of the world, does not want to be caught unprepared when the Alaskan Way Viaduct comes tumbling down in an earthquake. In the recent legislative session she made sure Seattle decides between a tunnel replacement or an aerial rebuild by November — and then gets moving.

Who knows how long Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, obsessed with the idea of an expensive tunnel to replace the viaduct, would dilly-dally waiting to find tunnel money somewhere, somehow?

Gregoire stomped on that strategy in part because it is irresponsible to make the mistake Louisiana did and wait to take care of well-known infrastructure problems

Her take-charge attitude is a hallmark of how she has governed the last several months. The governor remains relatively unpopular, but she is bushwhacking through thorny issues with forcefulness and aplomb.

Pssst — the worst-kept secret is she is doing a pretty good job. Her negotiating skills, honed as attorney general on such high-profile issues as the big tobacco settlement, are bolstering her leadership.

Good work doesn't always translate into popularity. Though she is finally inching up in the polls, Gregoire remains one of the least-popular governors in the West. Her favorable poll numbers crept up from 44 percent to 47 percent. Other Western governors have approval ratings near 60 percent. Her predecessor, Gary Locke, sometimes boasted approval ratings near 60 percent. But recent observations convince me her no-nonsense style is working.

It's enough to make you say, Dino who?

Cards on the table: I was no fan of Republican gubernatorial challenger Dino Rossi in the 2004 election. I believe he is too conservative on social issues, such as abortion and gay rights, to fairly represent the state. Obviously, half the voters in the state don't agree with me.

Attorney General Rob McKenna or even Senate candidate Mike McGavick, if he loses to Sen. Maria Cantwell, seem more well-rounded choices for Republicans for 2008. Both will say they are not running for that office, but I am just blue-skying it here, thinking out loud. Any of the three would have to deal with a governor, who, for the moment anyway, has found her footing.

This year, Gregoire came on strong on medical malpractice, forcing opponents in one of the all-time nastiest initiative fights to get together and agree on a few things. The legislation created common ground on such things as use of voluntary binding arbitration for certain malpractice cases and the possibility for health care providers to apologize for medical mistakes without that being used in court against them.

The governor led the way on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning test by standing up to the teachers union and insisting students take the dreaded test. Her budget provided money and help for students who do not pass.

Gregoire was forceful with the mayor on the viaduct. Any governor or lawyer, and she is both, knows the state will be subject to expensive lawsuits if it dithers on a known hazard such as the viaduct. The state has appropriated $2 billion for a rebuild and Mayor Nickels and his tunnel are the main forces standing in the way. He insists on a $3.6 billion tunnel that is one part transportation, two parts urban redevelopment.

Gregoire also wrote a letter to Nickels urging him to be more proactive with the Seattle SuperSonics about whether the city will participate in an expanded KeyArena, or let talks begin with Bellevue. Rather than sitting on her hands in Olympia, she is prodding a foot-dragging city into action.

Gregoire was not so adept during her first legislative session in 2005. On the plus side, she pushed through an important gas-tax increase for roads and infrastructure, but she also increased spending too much and allowed the Legislature to raise more taxes than necessary.

In other words, this could be the high-water mark for her. The 2006 session had a budget surplus, which is always easier than a shortfall. The next biennium is expected to have a deficit late in the cycle.

Part of Gregoire's enduring image problem derives from the squeaky-close 2004 election against Rossi. Many voters believe it was unfairly awarded to her, and it has been difficult to recover from the Republicans' press-conference-a-day damning her as illegitimate. Our election system could use some work to assure votes are being counted correctly.

But Gregoire is our governor. At the risk of sounding impressed, and I am, it is time to give her credit for putting her negotiating skills to good use and for turning into a surprisingly adept leader.

Joni Balter's column appears regularly on editorial pages of The Times. Her e-mail address is jbalter@seattletimes.com