AP: Otter confirms McGee has resigned from Senate
The Associated Press reports that Gov. Butch Otter has confirmed that Sen. John McGee, R-Caldwell, has submitted a letter of resignation to Idaho Senate. Click below for a full report from AP reporter John Miller.
Otter: GOP Senator John McGee submits resignation
By JOHN MILLER, Associated Press
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Senator John McGee submitted a letter to resign from the Idaho Legislature on Wednesday, capping off a political free-fall that began last year with a drunken driving arrest, Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter said.
Otter told The Associated Press that the four-term senator from Caldwell turned in the letter Wednesday morning.
McGee had been the caucus chairman, the fourth ranking post in the Senate.
McGee did not immediately return telephone messages left Wednesday.
The resignation caps a difficult year for McGee. McGee was arrested on June 19 — Father's Day. McGee began drinking at a Boise golf tournament, and says he largely blacked out and simply doesn't remember the details of what happened next.
According to police, McGee took a Ford Excursion and cargo trailer from the southwest Boise home of a "complete stranger" and got it stuck in a yard. A breath test showed McGee's blood-alcohol content at nearly twice the legal limit.
Last summer, McGee pleaded guilty to drunken driving in a deal that erased accompanying auto theft charges. He served jail time and paid restitution for a stranger's vehicle that he damaged.
McGee's reputation was further bruised over the summer when the AP reported that despite having a home just 26 miles from the Capitol, he had been claiming a $122 per diem during the Legislature that adds up to some $6,000 annually. The money is meant to defray the cost of a second residence in Boise, but McGee was spending nights at his parents' house in Boise.
Most southwestern Idaho lawmakers claim a $49 per diem.
At the start of the 2012 session, McGee apologized to his colleagues for his actions and survived efforts calling for him to step down from his leadership post.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
