Butch Otter was still undecided on Proposition 2 on Monday, at which time he said in a debate, “I’ve listened time and time again to both sides, and quite frankly I’m still confused because I don’t know exactly what it says.”

On Tuesday morning, when I interviewed him for an upcoming series on issues in the governor’s race, Otter was sounding more and more concerned about the measure. Finally, on Tuesday night, he came out against it. Here’s his statement:

“The Idaho Legislature did a good job of addressing the eminent domain concerns raised by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Kelo vs. New London, Connecticut. While Proposition 2 essentially restates the Legislature’s solution, the issue at the ballot measure’s heart is protecting private property from regulatory takings. I fully understand and even share many of its supporters’ concerns. Private property rights is one of my core values. Yet there are almost as many opinions about what Proposition 2 will actually do as there are people voicing those opinions. That seems like a recipe for lots of lawsuits, which makes it tough for me to recommend it. So I will vote against Proposition 2. My commitment to the measure’s supporters is that if problems such as they foresee do arise in Idaho, I will be front and center to see that those problems are addressed by whatever means necessary and in an equitable and constitutional manner.”

Otter’s Democratic opponent in the race to be Idaho’s next governor, Jerry Brady, has been against the measure all along. Brady calls it “a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” saying, “We should understand it and we should be very clearly against it.”

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