Dealing With Otter’s Backroom Deals

In an editorial in the Moscow-Pullman Daily News, Bill McKee comments:

Idaho’s broadband imbroglio got a little more perplexing last week when a letter surfaced to show Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter knew federal funding had been nixed for the state’s school broadband system months before lawmakers were informed. Otter wrote to the Education Network of America to let it know that, though a whistleblower complaint had halted federal funding for the program, the state would still cover the cost, an Associated Press story said Monday. Otter wanted ENA to know he had directed his Department of Administration head to make sure funds were built into his amended budget proposal to the Legislature. In on sense, it was a brilliant move. Then chief of the Department of Administration Teresa Luna took the heat when she, not Otter, informed lawmakers months later of the loss of federal funding. More here.

DFO: Looks like the state’s newspapers are fairly unanimous re: what they think of the financial/legal mess that our wheeling-dealing Teflon governor has gotten us into. Thoughts?