Echohawk’s Moving To Utah… For Now

Former Idaho Attorney General Larry EchoHawk has his Boise home up for sale. And he’s just signed a contract to teach another semester at Brigham Young University’s J. Reuben Clark Law School.

Does that signal he has severed his Idaho ties, never again to be a factor in Idaho politics?

Not at all.

“My roots are deeply embedded in Idaho,” EchoHawk said. “I’m keeping my options open.”

He was hired to teach Indian law and federal criminal law during the spring semester at BYU after losing last year’s race for governor to Republican Phil Batt. During the past week EchoHawk agreed to teach criminal law and criminal trial practice in the fall semester.

His house in an upscale area of northwest Boise is on the market, and his wife, Terry, and 9-year-old son, Michael, are moving to Provo, Utah.

“I’m tired of making double house payments,” he said.

The former Shoshone-Bannock tribal attorney, state legislator and Bannock County prosecutor is noncommittal about the future. He said it may include staying at BYU or returning to Idaho, either for private law practice or politics.

But for now, EchoHawk’s attention is focused on giving final examinations to his students during the next couple of weeks and grading the results.

With Republicans in full control of Idaho politics and the 1996 election still more than a year away, rumors about what EchoHawk might do are providing most of the excitement in an otherwise dull political season.

He is rumored to be under consideration for selection as a general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, dean of BYU’s law school or even president of the church-owned university someday.

EchoHawk only laughs at those speculations.

Republicans, especially the staff of GOP Sen. Larry Craig, are keeping a wary eye on EchoHawk. There is no Democrat out trying to raise the substantial amounts of money required to run against Craig next year.

If EchoHawk is out of the picture, any delay by a Democrat considering whether to challenge Craig makes it less likely they will succeed.

The only other possibility of an experienced major Democrat surfacing for the Senate race is former fourterm Congressman Richard Stallings. But if Stallings wants to run, he’s keeping it to himself.

Some Republicans think it’s possible state Democratic Party Chairman Bill Mauk is thinking about the race. But he might be put off by the fact that in addition to Craig’s incumbent status, the GOP senator also has $250,000 in the bank and is just getting into serious money-raising.

EchoHawk says he plans to be in Idaho during the summer to research Idaho water law issues. It’s a timely subject in the West, and EchoHawk says he may publish the results.

Meanwhile, the man who led the most disastrous Idaho Democratic ticket in decades is keeping any U.S. Senate ambitions he might have under wraps.