Where is Gregoire on the tough issues?

With the debate over initiatives like I-330 and I-336 heating up, one would think our legal-minded Governor Gregoire would want to weigh in. After all, her campaign was energetic, promising strong leadership on important issues facing our state. Her absence is therefore notable.

Then again, it’s no secret that Gregoire’s approval rating is one of the lowest of all governors’ in the nation (38 percent rating in a September Strategic Vision poll) and really only paralleled on the federal level (sorry, Dubya). My guess is that she’s staying out of the limelight until this year’s election is over, quite possibly because she’s perceptive enough to know a great number of voters still despise her.

Case in point: Demonstrators spoiled her fundraiser dinner at Discovery Park featuring John Kerry last May. And soon thereafter, “threats to her security” kept the good governor from revealing her schedule in advance. Ooh, and then there’s the memorable WSU graduation stunt that “punk’d” Gregoire’s legitimacy, ouch!

As we approach Halloween, Gregoire’s not really keeping herself shut-up in the governor’s mansion out of fear of ghosts and goblins, or is she?

Let’s see, if you became governor under the questionable circumstances of last year’s King County election fiasco, you’d probably be haunted too! I’m still trying to decide whether her absence is a political trick or a welcome treat.

Patrick E. Bell

Stanwood