Among the baffling aspects of Gov. Tina Kotek’s tenure is that she ranks among the nation’s least-popular governors, despite two successful legislative sessions.

Oregonians’ low opinion of Kotek, which was borne out in recent Portland-area polling, likely has little to do with her Office of First Spouse fiasco. Instead, Kotek inherited the societal residue of her fellow progressive Democrat, Gov. Kate Brown.

“Generally speaking, governors in Oregon haven’t been popular for a long time,” said John Horvick, senior vice president at DHM Research. “There’s no big shifts, I think, in public sentiment around the governor.”

Kotek has stayed true to her priority issues: homelessness and housing, behavioral health and addiction, and early childhood and education. She has not been the Brown clone that opponents predicted. Yet Oregonians’ collective opinion has remained consistently negative.

“Even if these are great and wise policies that are going to perhaps move the state in a bold new direction,” Horvick said of Kotek’s work, “people aren’t seeing that translated into material conditions in their lives or changes in homelessness or housing affordability.”

Kotek is a policy wonk. As someone who has worked extensively with Kotek said the other day: “The good news is she micromanages everything. The bad news is she micromanages everything.”

She has gained grudging respect among some conservatives by tackling Oregon’s housing shortage, sometimes placing her at odds with environmentalists. She backed the recriminalization of minor drug possession. Through her Portland Central City Task Force, she stepped in to try to get Oregon’s largest city back on track.

Portland-area voters do like her better than Mayor Ted Wheeler, despite their overall dismal ratings, according to DHM Research polling conducted for the Oregonian.

At Kotek’s press conference last week, however, she seemed to be channeling her inner Kate Brown. Kotek delivered a brilliant, apologetic opening statement about the controversy involving the role of her wife, Aimee Kotek Wilson. 

But then … Kotek handled follow-up questions, as Brown would do, by reverting to her talking points, thereby sidestepping the point of some questions.

Kotek’s press conferences usually are time-limited. Last week, however, reporters were allowed to ask as many questions as they wanted. 

Even so, we exited with continued uncertainty about Kotek Wilson’s participation in Governor’s Office policies, politics and personnel. Staff emails, which were obtained through public records requests, contradict the depictions presented by Kotek and her aides.

Kotek’s management of this situation is in sharp contrast to her political leadership in other areas. Will it affect her political relationships, or even her ability to recruit and retain top-notch staff? Could be.

Fortunately for her, most Oregonians pay little heed to the intricacies of state governance.

“Her negative ratings are not because of this recent controversy regarding the first lady,” pollster Horvick said. “Her negatives are because Oregonians are divided about their view of government. Oregonians are frustrated with the direction of the state and the conditions of the state.

“I think there’s a lot of momentum that’s carried over from Gov. Brown to Gov. Kotek.”