One way to build a resumé

BOISE – Serving as a state’s lieutenant governor is a good way to become governor, according to a new study by the National Lieutenant Governors Association that found one in four governors nationwide previously had been a lieutenant governor.

The number is even higher in Idaho, where three of the five governors who have served in the past 25 years were former lieutenant governors.

One thing the study didn’t examine: how many lieutenant governors previously had served as governor. Idaho’s current governor, Jim Risch, is running for lieutenant governor in the November election.

“No, I don’t have that answer,” said Julia Hurst, executive director of the national association. However, she said, “Oddly enough, I do have a stranger answer – I know that on the ballot in November, there will be two men running for lieutenant governor who once served as governor.”

One is Risch, who succeeded Gov. Dirk Kempthorne this spring when Kempthorne became secretary of the interior. The other is former Alabama Gov. Jim Folsom Jr. He succeeded Gov. H. Guy Hunt in 1993 after Hunt was convicted of ethics violations, but Folsom lost the gubernatorial election in 1994.

Now, after 12 years out of politics, Folsom has decided to run for another term as lieutenant governor, saying he enjoyed serving in the office.

Folsom is the son of legendary two-term Alabama Gov. “Big Jim” Folsom, whose nickname derived from his 6-foot-8-inch height and prompted his son to become known as “Little Jim,” even though the younger man is well more than 6 feet tall.

Hurst said she hasn’t heard of any other lieutenant governors who once served as governor, “but to be really honest, that doesn’t mean it’s never happened,” she said.

The National Lieutenant Governors Association is starting another study to see if any other elected position is more prevalent in governors’ job histories than lieutenant governor; that study is to be done next March.

The three Idaho governors in the past quarter-century who previously had served as lieutenant governor are Risch, Gov. Phil Batt and Gov. John Evans.

Batt was elected lieutenant governor in 1978 and served one term from 1979 to 1983 when Evans was governor. He was elected governor in 1994.

Evans succeeded Gov. Cecil Andrus when Andrus was appointed secretary of the interior by then-President Carter in 1977, and Evans was twice elected governor in 1978 and 1982.

Current Lt. Gov. Mark Ricks, who just turned 82, said he doesn’t figure on running for governor anytime soon. “No, ma’am, I don’t really have any desire to do that at all,” he said.

Ricks was appointed lieutenant governor by Risch after Risch stepped into the governor’s office. Ricks will serve for just six months.

“That’s an interesting study,” Ricks said. “Years ago when I served in the Senate in the state of Idaho, I had people ask me if I’d be interested in running for governor. And I said, ‘Look, I don’t want to have a statewide campaign; I’m not interested in a statewide campaign.’ And now I tell all the legislators, ‘Since the governor appointed me to be his lieutenant governor, now that’s the way to get elected. It’s a lot less costly.’ “

Ricks said he may serve as acting governor if Risch is out of state, but he’s not counting on it. “Now, if you’d encourage him to take Vicki on a vacation for a couple of months, then yes, that would happen,” Ricks joked.

Ricks said he is “honored” to be Idaho’s lieutenant governor for his brief term but said he has “no desire to go beyond that period of time.”