Gov. "Doer" doesn't get her due

Gov. Chris Gregoire was beaming, positively beaming, as she did a quick analysis of the just-concluded legislative session. You don't often see governors, especially this one, in such a glowing state.

As the Legislature wrapped up earlier this week, there was an unusual lovefest among Democrats — the governor, House Speaker Frank Chopp and Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown. They had accomplished a lot in education, the environment and health care without overreaching or acting like out-of-control, wild-eyed liberals.

Gregoire is proving to be an adept governor, but for whatever reason, the public warms to her ever so slowly.

Her approval numbers bop around in the high 40s and low 50s. Yet, because of the controversy surrounding the 2004 election, and other reasons not entirely understood, she hasn't reached the comfortable range of support enjoyed by, say, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, who collected 55 percent of the 2004 vote, or her predecessor, Gov. Gary Locke, who at times polled 60 percent favorable.

Political observers recall that another Washington governor, Republican Dan Evans, who served three terms and who could be on a Mount Rushmore of Washington politics, sometimes had favorable numbers around 51 percent, enough for re-election but also reflective of his willingness to spend political capital.

Gregoire's latest poll numbers, according to the national SurveyUSA, were 49 and 51 percent favorable, respectively, in March and April. Gregoire, too, is a doer. Maybe that riles constituents who don't want much from government.

But this is largely a blue state. Why hasn't she gained more traction?

"I think she is an incredibly good governor, one of the best in the country," says Bryan Jones, director of the Center for American Politics and Public Policy at the University of Washington.

He says he, too, wonders why Gregoire isn't more popular. It might be because she is a lousy saleswoman, that she exudes so much confidence it can be off-putting to men. Nothing will help her more, he says, than a re-match with Republican Dino Rossi in 2008. That begins, well, in about the next 10 to 12 minutes.

Republicans are already having a ball with a YouTube Web ad criticizing Gregoire about state Department of Corrections release of offenders who violated the state's version of probation. They were released from two King County jails and the Snohomish County Jail because of overcrowding.

Gregoire first announced such releases would stop. A few weeks later, more were let go, perhaps for different reasons. Not a good moment.

But this session, Gregoire delivered on promises to direct considerable sums of money to early-childhood learning, to higher education, to intensive help for students having trouble passing the math portion of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning, or WASL.

She championed health-care insurance for all children, with state support for kids in families earning up to 300 percent of poverty.

Yes, these programs are expensive. Yes, Republicans will yell their favorite word about the budget: "unsustainable."

Lawmakers were flush with money and overspent in some areas, but a lawsuit has been filed challenging the state's lackluster funding of K-12 education.

"I would love to see the numbers now," said the governor, referring to our perennial low rankings in per-student funding. Her eyes lit up as she pounded a finger on the table, noting per-pupil spending increased by $900 this budget. Real dollars. Real investment.

The governor also pulled off a maneuver that will resonate in the election. She pushed through a constitutional amendment to create a rainy-day savings account that can only be tapped by a 60 percent vote of the Legislature (or 50 percent if the economy cools, or in case of natural disaster.)

Agree with the idea or not, but politically, it is always good to steal a few riffs from the other party's favorite tune.

Pollster Stuart Elway hasn't polled on Gregoire's approval ratings since January but says she has gone steadily upward, to about 52 percent, since the bitter fight over her narrow election victory.

But SurveyUSA polls show she hit 55 percent in December, then dropped a few points, likely a result of one thing that went very badly this session, the non-decision on the Alaskan Way Viaduct.

The only way to produce public support for a project like this is for politicians to present a unified front, not the free-for-all we saw among Gregoire, Chopp and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels.

This wasn't exactly Gregoire's fault, but much of life is judged against expectations. She was expected to pull it together and didn't.

Gregoire might not be the most popular person to occupy the governor's mansion. But so far, she is an effective go-getter with the gumption to get things done. Let the re-election contest begin.

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