Otter’s City Club visit a pleasant one

Gov. Butch Otter was in fine form Thursday as he addressed the City Club of Boise, tellin’ tales, droppin’ names and crackin’ jokes. Asked what he thinks about the Bush administration’s latest proposal to sell off federal forest lands in Idaho, Otter said, “I sat in that bear trap once, and I don’t think …” Laughter filled in as he trailed off.

He told of being counseled on the need to avoid a “foolish consistency” by retired Judge Alan Schwartzman while the two were in the steam room at the local YMCA, “modestly draped.” He talked about his three big goals for his administration: a state government that’s principle-driven, customer service-focused and data-driven. “None of those things have been accomplished yet in the first seven weeks,” Otter said. “That’s probably not a very good score card.”

Also noting Ash Wednesday last week, he said, “I think everybody oughta give up something for Lent,” and he mentioned the initiatives he has sent upstairs to lawmakers with, as yet, no success. “The Legislature oughta give up those initiatives and give them back to me.” He said, “Idahoans are graciously forgiving. They’ll forgive you for making a mistake, but they won’t forgive you for not making a decision and moving forward. That’s what we’ve tried to do in these seven weeks.”

Newcomb the lecturer

Former House Speaker Bruce Newcomb has accepted an appointment as a contributing faculty member at Boise State University, where he’ll share his expertise with students in political science and public affairs classes and assist the university in developing and implementing a state government affairs strategy. “Our students will benefit immensely from his experiences and expertise,” said Les Alm, chairman of the Department of Public Policy and Administration. BSU President Bob Kustra said, “I gained enormous respect for Bruce Newcomb as a legislator and a leader. … I couldn’t be more proud to have him as a member of our Boise State family.”

Schools underfunded

Otter was asked at the City Club of Boise whether he supports early-childhood education, as in prekindergarten, as part of Idaho’s public school system. Here’s his answer: “I am supportive of prekindergarten education, but not at the state level. And let me tell you why. Before you say, ‘Well there’s ol’ Butch again, just like in 1974 when he voted against kindergartens. He hates little kids.’ That wasn’t it at all. Folks, remember in 1974, we had the same argument in ‘74 we’re having in ‘07. And that is we are not doing an adequate job now of funding grades half-a-day-of-kindergarten through 12. So when we arrive at a point when we are adequately funding K-12, then we’ll consider adding additional burden to that system.”

That’s no rat …

Standing on display along a side wall in the governor’s office is a real stuffed otter, holding tiny U.S. and Idaho flags. The governor explains that the work of taxidermy was presented to him by the Safari Club International when he went to Congress, and the animal came from along the Portneuf River in the Pocatello area. “A lot of folks, when I was in Congress, they’d come in and look at that and say, ‘Wow, that’s the biggest rat I’ve ever seen,’ ” Otter recalled with a chuckle. “I said, ‘No, that’s an otter. There’s only one rat in this office, and you’re talking with him.’ “

Cart before horse

Budgets set by the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee – for the executive office of the governor, the Division of Financial Management, and the state controller – were set as if state agencies will continue as they are, rather than go through a major reorganization. Otter wants to “devolve” two state agencies – the Department of Administration and the Human Resources Division – but hasn’t sent lawmakers the complicated legislation to make those changes. Those would include spinning off some of their duties to agencies like the governor’s office, the Division of Financial Management and the controller’s office, among others. With budget-setting starting now, the joint committee had no choice but to set budgets for agencies without reflecting the changes that would occur if “devolution” happens. If that legislation passes, budget writers said they’d write a “trailer bill” to make those changes.