Risch sticks to plan

BOISE – Idaho’s next governor will serve for less than nine months – and then ask the state’s voters to demote him to lieutenant governor.

Lt. Gov. Jim Risch, who will succeed Gov. Dirk Kempthorne in office if Kempthorne is confirmed as the new U.S. secretary of the Interior, said Friday he won’t run for governor. Instead, he will continue with his plan to run for re-election as lieutenant governor, even though he’ll likely be the incumbent governor by the time the election rolls around.

“I think the decision comes down to this: Do I want to engage in what would be a difficult and contentious campaign, or do I want to discharge the duties of the governor of the state of Idaho?” Risch said at a crowded press conference in the governor’s office. “I’ve chosen the latter, and I think that’s the right decision.”

Risch, a 62-year-old lawyer and rancher from Boise who’s one of the longest-serving and most savvy politicians in the state, acknowledged, “It’s no secret that I’ve wanted to do this job for a long time.”

He had widely been expected to challenge Congressman Butch Otter in the May Republican primary for governor. But Otter started his campaign so early – announcing his candidacy for governor before he’d even taken the oath of office for his current term in Congress – that he had built a large organization, lined up support and piled up hundreds of thousands in campaign funds before Risch could make a move.

Risch, who spent $360,000 of his own money to defeat then-Lt. Gov. Jack Riggs in a Republican primary four years ago, announced just before Thanksgiving that he’d seek re-election instead of running for governor.

Then, on Thursday, President Bush named Kempthorne as his nominee to be the next Interior secretary to replace the departing Gale Norton. It was one day before the filing deadline for the election – and Risch still could have changed his plans.

“The last 18 hours of course have changed the political landscape dramatically,” Risch said. “We did re-evaluate that.”

But in the end, his decision was the same as it was in November.

Now, he said, “I will become the 31st governor of the state of Idaho.”

He’ll be the shortest-serving governor in Idaho history with one possible exception: Gov. George Shoup served just a few months in 1890 before becoming a U.S. senator, but he was the incumbent territorial governor for a year before being elected governor.

Nevertheless, Risch vowed, “I’m not going to be a placeholder.”

Risch, a former Senate president pro-tem and majority leader, said once Kempthorne is confirmed by the U.S. Senate – a prospect that’s considered almost certain since Kempthorne is a popular former senator – he’ll have more to say about his plans as governor.

“When that happens, I’ll have a lot to say about where I want to go and where I want to take the state,” Risch said. “First of all, the state’s got to be run. This is the largest operation in the state of Idaho, and it needs a chief executive officer.”

Risch holds both a bachelor’s degree in forestry and a law degree from the University of Idaho, and started his political career with election as Ada County prosecutor in 1970, followed by election to the state Senate in 1974. He and his wife, Vicki, have been married for 37 years, and have three sons and a half-dozen grandchildren.

Risch is known as a master of hardball politics, who ran the state Senate with brutal efficiency and served there for 22 years. But he also suffered some election defeats on his own turf, losing to Democrat Mike Burkett in 1988 and not returning to the Senate until then-Gov. Phil Batt appointed him in 1995.

Risch then went up against Kempthorne on the tribal gaming issue, aiming harsh criticism from the Senate at Kempthorne’s attempt to negotiate a settlement with Idaho tribes and killing the governor’s legislation. Ultimately, that move led to a successful voter initiative that the tribes sponsored to clearly legalize their gaming operations.

House Speaker Bruce Newcomb said, “Jim has been around here a long time. He knows this place backward and forward.”

Since taking office as lieutenant governor, Risch has broken several key tie votes as the Senate’s chief presiding officer. Last year, he broke a 17-17 tie to pass legislation sought by Qwest Corp. to deregulate local telephone rates in the state. This year, he broke a tie to defeat a bill aimed at using scholarships to attract more top math, science and engineering students to Idaho colleges and universities.

“He’s a tough negotiator,” said Sen. Gary Schroeder, R-Moscow, sponsor of the scholarship bill. “He can stand firm when he wants something. But he’s fair.”