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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Election 2014: Otter aims for third term

Challengers say Idaho’s schools, economy need work

BOISE – Idaho Gov. Butch Otter’s cowboy charm has long appealed to Idaho voters, helping make him one of the state’s most-elected officials: a longtime lieutenant governor, three-term congressman and two-term governor.

But has he earned the rare distinction of becoming only the second governor in Idaho history to be elected to a third consecutive term? An array of challengers, led by A.J. Balukoff, the Democratic nominee and longtime Boise School Board chairman, say no, arguing the state’s schools, economy and reputation have suffered on Otter’s watch.

Otter says he wants a chance to finish leading the state out of the recession.

“Now the economy’s getting much better, and it’s an opportunity for us to rebuild,” he said. “I believe we are going in the right direction, and from what I’m hearing, so do most of the people in the state of Idaho.”

Balukoff, a prominent Boise businessman who wasn’t affiliated with either party before he launched his campaign, said he’s been finding encouraging signs as he travels the state. While walking in a parade in the tiny, conservative eastern Idaho town of Bancroft, for example, people told him, “Thanks for running,” “We’re behind you,” and “We need to fix our schools,” Balukoff said.

The unprecedented cuts to education that occurred on Otter’s watch came as the state’s economy tanked during the recession that hit shortly after he took office in 2007. Idaho lawmakers had never before cut state funding to schools from one year to the next; now, schools are still getting less than they got from the state before the downturn.

Compounding the problem was a shift in Idaho’s school funding system approved by state lawmakers at the behest of then-Gov. Jim Risch in 2006. That change removed the main property tax funding for school operations in favor of an increase in Idaho’s sales tax from 5 percent to 6 percent. When the downturn hit, sales tax proceeds dropped – and state funding for schools was slashed.

Otter boasts that he led the state through the recession without raising taxes. Instead, he continued to press for cutting taxes, including $30 million a year in cuts in personal and corporate income taxes, $20 million cut from business equipment taxes, and expansion of a credit to offset sales taxes paid on groceries; together they total $150 million a year in tax cuts.

“Had we raised taxes, I don’t think we would’ve seen the robust recovery that we’re practically leading the nation in,” Otter said.

But the signals are mixed on that. Idaho is gaining jobs faster than most states, but it lost more during the recession, meaning it has more ground to make up.

According to the state Department of Education, 42 of Idaho’s 115 school districts have had to cut back to a four-day school week, along with 11 charter schools. And more than 90 districts have persuaded local voters to pass temporary property tax increases to fund basic school operations, meaning most Idahoans are now paying both the property tax and the higher sales tax.

“Schools need a stable and reliable source of funding, and they haven’t had that in at least eight years,” Balukoff said.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Idaho now ranks last in the nation in school funding per student. Economic measures including employment and income also show Idaho ranking low as it emerges from the recession.

The Pew Charitable Trusts’ comparison of key state indicators shows Idaho had the third-highest drop in employment among 25- to 54-year-olds from 2007 to 2014, at 5.8 percent. Idaho’s low performance was eclipsed only by New Mexico and Nevada; nationally, the drop was 3.7 percent.

In 2006, when Otter was first elected governor, Idaho’s per-capita income ranked 42nd among the 50 states, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. It fell to 45th in 2008 and 49th in 2009, where it has remained since. In 1995, Idaho ranked 37th.

Balukoff – and Otter’s other challengers – also say the two-term governor has allowed Idaho’s reputation to suffer. They point to the state’s well-publicized, unsuccessful fight against same-sex marriage; Otter’s insistence on including fringe candidates in a GOP primary debate that drew nationwide ridicule; and troubles with multimillion-dollar state contracts, including deals for a high school broadband network and a private prison – both of which involved big Otter campaign contributors.

The prison contract is the focus of a new ad from Balukoff’s campaign.

“I will never put the interest of a campaign donor above the interest of the people of Idaho,” Balukoff said.

Otter has never had a problem raising campaign money in Idaho, and this year has been no exception. But from the May primary through Sept. 30, Balukoff raised three times as much as Otter for his campaign – largely because he invested $1.6 million of his own money. Both men are millionaires, but Otter has not put any of his money into his re-election campaign. Instead, he’s drawn big donations from lobbyists and political action committees, along with other supporters.

Bujak raised just $18,000, including $10,000 in loans to his own campaign. Large donations, he said, lead to “cronyism and corruption.”

“Voters need to understand that the people who donate big money expect big favors in return,” he said.

Balukoff is a longtime Boise resident who has ownership interests in a chunk of downtown Boise, including its downtown convention hotel and the local hockey team.

“I’m financing a lot of this campaign from personal funds,” he said. “But I’m getting a lot of small contributions.”

The Idaho Republican Party, whose members currently hold every statewide office in Idaho, accused Balukoff of “attempting to buy his way into the governor’s office.”

But Jasper LiCalzi, political scientist at the College of Idaho, said it’s not untypical in states dominated by one party to have more wealthy candidates from the weaker party.

“It’s to make up for lack of organization and ability to fundraise,” LiCalzi said. “If he’s going to be viable, he has to do it himself.”

Balukoff said that when he first agreed to run for governor, he figured his chances of winning as a Democrat were slim, and he asked himself, “So, why would I do this? And as I thought it through, I thought, well, I’ll have about a year of a public platform to talk about education and talk about trying to get our state on track and supporting public education the way our constitution mandates that we support it.”

As he’s gotten farther into the campaign, he has come to believe he has “a very realistic shot” at winning, he said.

There’s little public polling in Idaho, but the CBS News/NYT/YouGov national online poll had Otter leading Balukoff 57 percent to 33 percent in its latest round. A new poll released last week by PPP Polling, a Democratic-leaning pollster, showed Otter with 39 percent to Balukoff’s 35 percent.

Possible wild cards in the race include the other candidates – Bujak has been campaigning hard against Otter from the right. Also on the ballot are Constitution Party candidate Steve Pankey and independents Jill Humble and Pro-Life, who legally changed his name from Marvin Richardson. Votes that go to any of them could change the balance between Otter and Balukoff.

“Balukoff, I don’t see how he gets 50 percent,” LiCalzi said. “The only way he wins is for Bujak to siphon off these libertarian/tea party voters.”

Both Balukoff and Otter have been running positive ads on TV touting their campaigns; two outside groups also have run attack ads against Balukoff. For months, Balukoff resisted calls to respond in kind, but this weekend he launched a new, hard-hitting ad critical of Otter’s handling of the private prison issue.