Governor Drives A Batt-Mobile

Gov. Phil Batt wants to be his own man, with no debts outstanding and no strings attached.

That’s why his wife’s Honda Accord has been sitting in the parking spot reserved for the governor in front of the Statehouse.

For years that spot was occupied by big, black Cadillacs used by Gov. Cecil Andrus. Batt also drove a Cadillac for a while after taking office in 1995, but he didn’t like its bulkiness.

He drove a leased Buick LeSabre for several months. But that was part of a promotional deal with a Boise-area dealership that provided the state with a car for $100 per month - far below its market lease value.

Part of the deal was that the governor would turn in the leased cars every six to eight months so the dealer could quickly release or sell the vehicle.

But Batt decided he didn’t want to be obliged to anyone by accepting a special arrangement. So his wife’s 1993 Honda has become the unofficial governor’s car while the state Department of Transportation negotiates a lease for another one.

It probably will be a Ford Taurus, in keeping with Batt’s no-nonsense attitude toward government. The lease is expected to be about $4,800 per year, renewable for one-year or three-year terms.

The attitude is nothing new for Batt. He raised $1,446,709 in the 1993-94 election cycle to win the governor’s race. Jeff Malmen, then-campaign manager and now Batt’s chief of staff, says the first thing Batt told potential donors was that any money they gave his campaign wouldn’t buy any favors or special consideration if he was elected.

That cost Batt a few donations, Malmen says. But it also left the new governor with remarkably few political debts to pay.