Huckleberries: Governor Batt never forgot 1994 S-R endorsement snub

Former Republican Gov. Phil Batt has reminded me many times over the years, good-naturedly, that The Spokesman-Review endorsed his Democratic opponent, Larry EchoHawk, in the 1994 Idaho gubernatorial race.

And every time he does, I tell him that it wasn’t my fault. That, as the Idaho representative on the editorial board of the day, I had recommended Batt. And that he’d won the endorsement on the first ballot. Editor Chris Peck, who really, really wanted to endorse EchoHawk, engineered a reversal.

Last week, I told you about the 1996 endorsement of state Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, who will call it quits in 2018 after finishing her 11th term. I was the go-to editorial writer and interviewer for Idaho political endorsements during my 13 years on the editorial board, 1993-2006. During much of that time, the board consisted of about nine members.

The board rarely rejected my endorsement recommendations. But they did when it came to Batt and Lt. Gov. EchoHawk. Sorta.

On the day we voted, seven of the nine editorial board members were present. The board picked Batt by a 4-3 vote. And I prepared to write the editorial. However, Peck lobbied for a second vote, with the whole board available. I can’t remember which two board members had missed the original vote. But, on the following day, they both supported EchoHawk in the do-over vote. So we endorsed EchoHawk 5-4.

EchoHawk, who entered fall 1994 with a double-digit poll lead, lost to Batt by 34,760 votes, in a four-way race that also included independent Ron Rankin, the property tax activist from Coeur d’Alene. Batt went on to become a strong, one-term governor who forced the Idaho Legislature to extend workers’ compensation to farmworkers and negotiated a deal that limited N-waste storage in Idaho.

And, like the elephant who symbolizes his political party, he never forgot the endorsement snub.

Hummingbird Ballet

Sitting in the shade at the end of our day, We watch the hummingbird ballet./They dart to the feeders and fight like hell, it must be their dinner bell/Like mini choppers in the air, it seems like they’re everywhere./They hit petunias, lilacs, Monarda and dianthus,/they sure know how to entertain us – Ken Blood and Bonnie McGhee of Sandpoint, in memory of the late Tom Wobker, The Bard of Sherman Avenue (“Hummingbird Ballet”).

Huckleberries

Poet’s Corner: To be a Nazi must be boring/without a Hitler and a Goering;/when it is fun you want to have/you goose-strep right down on Sherman Ave – “The Bard of Sherman Avenue: Poems by Tom Wobker” (“Aryan Parade”) … On the recent birthday of Jadd Davis, the artistic director of Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre, Kerri Thoreson requested that he sign “Happy Birthday” for all of us – to himself. Why? The Post Falls councilwoman realized that few of us have Jadd’s swell tenor chops … A Huckleberry Friend tells of seeing a vanity plate that read, “ILUVCDA.” No big deal, you say? Did I forget to mention that the vehicle was registered in Colorado? … Huckleberries Online poll: Should the children of President Donald Trump be involved in policy decisions? A plurality of 27.5 percent of Hucks Nation said, “No.” A bigger plurality of 45.8 percent said, in the immortal words of Butch Otter, “Hell no!”

Parting shot

In his latest Kellogg Police Department Roll Call report, Sgt. Paul Twidt tells of an ex-girlfriend who didn’t want her ex-boyfriend to leave. So she ripped off all the clothes from his car to force him to come back. Sgt. Twidt dead-pans: “Not great logic in my opinion, and now she will be facing theft charges.” Bingo.

You can contact D.F. “Dave” Oliveria at 509-319-0354 or daveo@spokesman.com.