Gov. Frank Murkowski suffers the second-worst approval rating among the nation's governors, according to one of the country's largest pollsters.
SurveyUSA, a New Jersey-based company, polled 600 adults in each state last weekend. Murkowski's 27 percent approval rating was 49th, leading only Ohio Republican Bob Taft's 19 percent. Topping the list with 71 percent was North Dakota Republican John Hoeven.
The average approval rating among the 50 states was 48 percent.
"The governor is not focused on polls. He's focused on getting the job done for Alaska, and that means making some tough choices," Murkowski spokeswoman Becky Hultberg said.
The governor has not announced if he will run for re-election in 2006.
State Rep. Harry Crawford, D-Anchorage, said ignoring public opinion is wrong.
"His style is top-down leadership," he said. "He's not listening to (constituents). He's listening to corporate leaders and business leaders."
Some lawmakers shrugged off the numbers.
"I don't know if we ever had a governor who's been popular until they're almost dead," said Rep. Bill Stolze, R-Chugiak. "I would rely more on coffee shop talk and the banter I get in my district to reflect opinion rather than so-called scientific polls."
When asked, "Do you approve or disapprove of the job Frank Murkowski is doing as governor?" 27 percent said they approve, 66 percent said they disapprove and 7 percent said they are not sure.
Because the same number of respondents was surveyed in each state regardless of population, the margins of error vary slightly from state to state. The surveyor claims a 3.9 percent margin of error for Alaska.
The governor has made headlines lately in negotiating for a natural gas pipeline, requiring legislators to stay in Juneau for a special session, and asking to buy a jet for his use and prisoner transport.
Murkowski also supports two proposed bills that divide the Legislature. One would do away with pensions for future employees and create private retirement accounts. The other would overhaul workers' compensation to cap medical fees and assemble an appeals commission.
The bills would affect thousands of Alaskans.
The Alaska Public Employees Association and the National Education Association-Alaska, two unions that have a total membership of about 20,000 people, oppose the two bills.
Alaskans worry that injured workers may have their rights taken away and not have decent retirement benefits, said Cindy Spanyers, a representative from APEA.
About this time last year, pollsters from the Alaska Republican party showed the governor's approval rating at 29 percent.
Murkowski saw numbers as high as 70 percent when in 2001, as a U.S. senator, he announced he would campaign for governor.
Political commentators last year attributed his dip in public approval to steep budget cuts and controversial decisions, such as appointing his daughter to fill his empty seat in the U.S. Senate. Last fall voters elected Sen. Lisa Murkowski to her own term.
SurveyUSA plans to update the poll monthly.
• Andrew Petty can be reached at andrew.petty@juneauempire.com.
