OLYMPIA – Idaho Gov. Butch Otter continues to “court” Washington businesses, sending personal letters to their owners that suggest they should move to the Gem State.
That’s fair, Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire said Thursday, because the Evergreen State makes similar overtures to businesses in other states, including Idaho. She called foul last month when Otter sent out a blanket “love letter” to businesses in the Washington and Oregon that derided the neighboring states for tax increases.
“It is not normal for governors to send a so-called love letter. Governors absolutely do contact businesses in other states,” Gregoire said.
Hitting Washington for tax increases was “a little premature”, she added, because the Legislature hasn’t settled on any yet.
But it’s about to, warned Senate Minority Leader Mike Hewitt, R-Walla Walla…

OLYMPIA – Idaho Gov. Butch Otter is suggesting Washington businesses come over to his side of the border if taxes go up like they have in Oregon.
In a “love letter to our neighbors,” Otter argues that Idaho has a better plan than other states for handling the recession: “Predictable tax and regulatory policies are what our employers need in order to maintain their operations through this rough patch.”

Colleague Betsy Russell at Eye on Boise tells of an election-related savings in Idaho that isn’t available in Washington. But even if it was, Washington Republicans would probably be more than happy to put the money in the budget.

As reported here, it seems that Gov. Butch Otter’s office was submitting its 2011, which, like the governor’s budget in Washington, is mostly staff expenses. There’s also $15,000 contingency line item for transition, should Otter not be re-elected and a successor have to take over. (All kinds of campaign slogans come to mind, like “Save 15K with ButchO”)

In Washington, the gubernatorial election is still nearly three years off. But Republicans have been out of the governor’s mansion for so long that if this comes up in 2012, they’ll see it as a worthwhile investment.