Otter takes the reins

BOISE – Butch Otter, sworn in as Idaho’s 32nd governor on Friday, promised to build a state government based on “frugality and common sense” in which Idahoans can “become the architects of our own destiny.”

“For years now, I have been talking about personal responsibility and accountability, both in our private lives and in the halls of government,” Otter told more than a thousand well-wishers who gathered in front of the state Capitol steps in a chilly breeze. “Those are important principles here in Idaho, and they will form the basis of this administration.”

Otter’s brief inaugural speech was heavy on philosophy and light on specifics, but there are plenty of details to come. On Monday, he’ll present his first State of the State message together with his budget address to a joint session of the Legislature.

“It’s going to be different – it’s going to be a more hands-on governor than what we had in the past, I believe,” said Rep. Jim Clark, R-Hayden Lake. “It’s going to be a big change. I look forward to it.”

Rep. Frank Henderson, R-Post Falls, said, “In my opinion, he’s going to be an effective governor because of his prior experience in state government. That’s an invaluable asset. He knows this state intimately, he knows the needs.”

The inaugural ceremony included a 19-gun salute – the traditional number for a governor according to military protocol – and a flyover by two military helicopters and two A-10 Thunderbolt jets, known as Warthogs, from the Idaho Air National Guard.

An elementary school choir sang, new first lady Lori Otter, clad in mink, offered a reading from John Stuart Mill, and high school student Brittany Bishop sang the national anthem.

Otter told the crowd, “In the coming days and week we will be discussing many seemingly diverse issues, but they all have a common thread. Our ability as a state and as Idahoans to embrace our future, to meet the challenges of today and opportunities of tomorrow, depends on how we educate and prepare and motivate our children for productive and thoughtful lives.”

Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, described the ceremony as “simply elegant” and said Otter’s speech showed he values education. “I think it really encompassed his philosophy on government and his love for Idaho,” she said.

Senate Education Committee Chairman John Goedde, R-Coeur d’Alene, said, “I’m optimistic.”

Former Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, now the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, said, “Oh, he’ll do a wonderful job. He’s really prepared a lifetime for this, and he will bring his particular style.”

Otter’s style is decidedly cowboy. A rodeo enthusiast, the 64-year-old Republican already has decorated the governor’s office walls with cowboy and horse pictures, along with two huge silver belt buckles, one of which Otter won as a celebrity participant in a national riding competition in 1990.

His official swearing-in followed an earlier, private ceremony at the state-owned former Simplot mansion from which Otter excluded the press and public.

After Friday’s ceremony, guests lined the marble-adorned hallway outside Otter’s office for a chance to shake hands with the state’s newest executive and other elected officials.

But not everyone in the queue offered just a handshake. Boise college student Jesse Taylor, who campaigned for Otter, cradled a lone sheet of yellowed paper as he waited, attracting curious glances. Taylor, 21, said he spotted the faded paper, a map of the Idaho Territory from a late-1800s atlas, in an antiquities shop in New York. He bought it for $11 to give to Otter, whom he said offered him encouragement when the young man was diagnosed with cancer. Otter received the gift with a smile, stepping out of line to set it gingerly on his desk before returning to touch Taylor’s cheek.

Taylor said he loved Otter’s speech. “It kind of caught the spirit of Idaho, how supportive we are of America, the troops, the students,” he said.

Otter served as the congressman from Idaho’s 1st District for the past six years. Before that he was the state’s longest-serving lieutenant governor. He retired from Simplot Corp. in 1993 when he divorced his former wife, daughter of the company’s founder. He and Lori were married in August.

Wearing a tan coat and a bright blue scarf for the public swearing-in ceremony, Otter told the crowd, “Thank you. Thank you for the privilege of standing before you as someone for whom there is no higher aspiration and no greater honor than being an Idahoan.”