Former state Rep. David Bieter, a Boise Democrat, returned to the House on Thursday to address the chamber not as a member, but as the newly elected mayor of Boise.

After a warm welcome, he told the assembled representatives, "I have been waiting an awful long time to see you all stand and applaud a Democrat."

Then he said he had "risen above partisanship," and as proof, offered gifts for GOP Gov. Dirk Kempthorne and House Speaker Bruce Newcomb: A giant veto stamp for the guv, and an acknowledgement to Newcomb and the House for putting the ``fun in dysfunctional.''

Bieter's new position as mayor is non-partisan.

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