Butch Otter

Clement Leroy "Butch" Otter (born May 3, 1942) is the 32nd and current Governor of Idaho since January 2007 and is a member of the Republican Party. Otter previously represented the state's First Congressional District.

Otter was the longest serving Lieutenant Governor of Idaho, holding office from 1987-2001. He is the first Idahoan since statehood to win elections as both a United States Representative and as governor. He is the third Catholic to serve as governor of Idaho and the first to win election since James H. Hawley in 1910.

Early life and career

Butch Otter was born into a small family of limited means. His father was a journeyman electrician and the family lived in many rural locations in the Midwest & Western U.S. during his youth, attending 15 different schools. He graduated from St. Teresa's Academy (now Bishop Kelly High School) in Boise in 1962. he is also Anthony Otter's uncle.

Otter was 20 when he graduated from high school– a childhood accident involving gasoline badly burned his younger brother and forced Otter to take a year off. Otter worked throughout high school as a janitor, theater ticket taker, and lawn boy. "My dad graduated from high school. My expectations weren’t built beyond being a good electrician or carpenter." Otter briefly attended St. Martin's Abbey in Lacey, Washington, with an aim to becoming a priest. He attended the school primarily because of his father's opinion that "unless you were going to be a priest, you didn't need to go beyond high school."

Deciding against the priesthood, Otter returned to Idaho and attended Boise Junior College, then earned his B.A. in political science from the College of Idaho in 1967. He was the only member of his family to graduate from college, and made the dean's list in his last term. He served in the Idaho Army National Guard's 116th Armored Cavalry from 1968-73. He received specialized training at Fort Knox. His business experience includes 30 years with Simplot International, a leading agribusiness corporation. He started at a low-level position and eventually rose to the company's presidency.

Idaho legislature

His first bid for elective office was in 1972 when he was elected a member of the Idaho State House of Representatives from Canyon County. In 1978, Otter ran for Governor of Idaho, but was defeated in the Republican primary by Allan Larsen. Otter continued to remain active in the Idaho Republican Party, holding several state and county positions.

Lieutenant governor

In 1986, Otter returned to politics and was elected Lieutenant Governor of Idaho. He was reelected in 1990, 1994 and 1998. He served under three different governors, Democrat Cecil Andrus, and Republicans Phil Batt and Dirk Kempthorne. In 1991, when the Idaho Senate was evenly divided between 21 Republicans and 21 Democrats, Otter's tie-breaking votes kept the body under GOP control. Otter left the post midway through his fourth term in 2001 to take his Congressional seat. He is the longest-serving lieutenant governor in Idaho history.

Congressman

First District Congresswoman Helen Chenoweth-Hage had promised to serve only three terms in the House when first elected in the Republican wave of 1994, and kept that pledge in 2000 even after calling term limits bad policy. Otter entered the Republican primary, and immediately became the favorite due to his name recognition as lieutenant governor. He won handily, and breezed to victory in November. He was re-elected in 2002 and 2004 with no substantive opposition.

In Congress, Otter was largely conservative with a slight libertarian streak, as reflected in his opposition to the Patriot Act. He was one of three Republicans (along with Bob Ney of Ohio and Ron Paul of Texas) to vote against the act in 2001. He has since stated that "much of the USA PATRIOT Act is needed to help protect us in a dangerous age of stateless zealots and mindless violence". Otter was also very critical of the Bush Administration's terrorist surveillance program concerning communications from within the United States to those outside the United States. He served as a deputy majority whip for most of his time in Congress.

2006 election

On December 15 Otter announced his candidacy for the gubernatorial seat in 2006. Otter defeated three opponents in the May 23 Republican primary and faced Democrat Jerry Brady in the November 6 general election. Brady, the former publisher of The Post Register in Idaho Falls, had run for governor in 2002, losing to incumbent Dirk Kempthorne.

Otter was initially considered an overwhelming favorite, given his popularity and Idaho's strong Republican lean. However, the race was far closer than expected in the last weeks of the campaign. A poll conducted for the Idaho Statesman and Boise ABC affiliate KIVI showed Otter ahead of Brady by only a single point– a statistical dead heat. According to the Statesman, it was the first time in over a decade that the governor's race has not already been decided 10 days prior to the election. State Republican Party chairman Kirk Sullivan told the paper that the race appeared to be closer than normal because of a strong national trend against the Republicans. Otter pulled away in the final week, and won the election 52-44%– the closest gubernatorial race since 1994. He was reelected in 2010, and sworn in to his second term on January 7, 2011.

Political positions

Otter is pro-life and has voted to ban federal funding of abortions and opposes partial-birth abortions. He also supports parental consent laws for minors who seek an abortion. He supports a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between "one man and one woman." He has voted for establishing a nationwide AMBER alert system for missing children. He has been a strong advocate for second amendment rights and opposes federal restrictions on gun sales.^[1]

On economic issues, he has voted for a 2001 bankruptcy overhaul requiring partial debt repayment. He supports a balanced budget amendment to the US constitution and supports broad based tax cuts including eliminating the estate and marriage tax. He has voted to reduce the marriage tax by $399B over 10 years. He has supported expanding free trade agreements with nations such as Singapore and Chile. He has also voted for medical malpractice and tort reform. He has voted to allow importation of prescription drugs and has supported small business associations to reduce health insurance costs via collaborative efforts. Otter has voted to end offshore tax havens and promote tax credits for small businesses. He has voted to raise 401(k) limits & making pension plans more portable.

Otter has recommended an increase in Idaho state educational funding by $1.36 billion as well as expanding needs-based scholarships for college-bound students. Otter supports expanding offshore oil drilling and supports tax incentives for development of alternative fuels. He has stated that the US should set a goal of 25% renewable energy by 2025. He has voted to build a fence along the Mexican border and has opposed granting amnesty to illegal aliens.

Otter has voted against allowing electronic surveillance without a warrant. He has supported military recruitment efforts on college campuses and has voted for adopting the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. He opposes a time table for withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Gray Wolf Hunt

On January 11, 2007, Otter announced his support for a "gray wolf kill," in which all but 100 of Idaho's recently-recovered population would be eradicated, pending the forthcoming U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removal of the wolves' federal protections under the Endangered Species Act. Otter even remarked that he would be first in line to purchase a tag to kill one of the animals.^[2] This position drew criticism from many Western environmental and animal advocate groups, including Priscilla Feral, president of Friends of Animals who called for a boycott of potatoes from Idaho.^[3]

Personal

In 1964, Otter married Gay Simplot, daughter of J. R. Simplot. After 28 years of marriage, the couple amicably divorced in 1992. On August 18, 2006, Otter married his longtime girlfriend and former Miss Idaho USA Lori Easley in Meridian.^[4]

Controversy

In August 1992 Otter was pulled over on Interstate 84 near Meridian, Idaho for suspicion of driving under the influence. He claimed the arresting officer observed him swerving as he was reaching for his cowboy hat, which had been blown off by the wind in his open car. Otter offered several explanations for failing the field sobriety test including: his stocking feet were stung by weeds and gravel, he had run eight miles and his knee hurt, he was hungry, and that he had soaked his chewing tobacco in Jack Daniels. A jury convicted Otter in March 1993. He was sentenced to 72 hours of community service and 16 hours at an alcohol treatment program.^[5] This incident allegedly forced Otter to abandon an anticipated run for governor in 1994 and instead seek re-election for lieutenant governor.^[6]

Electoral history

References

1. ^ "Butch Otter on the Issues". Issues2000.org. http://www.issues2000.org/House/Butch_Otter.htm. Retrieved 2010-08-29. 
2. ^ "Idahoans weigh in on ending wolf protections - U.S. news - Environment - msnbc.com". MSNBC. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17500060/. Retrieved 2010-08-29. 
3. ^ ESPN Outdoors/Hunting Wolves Or Taters? August 28, 2009
4. ^ Associated Press. Otter and Easley Exchange Vows. August 18, 2006
5. ^ "A second chance for Lieutenant Governor". Mosow-Pullman Daily News. 11 March 1993. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Ys8qAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5NAFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6147,1049257. Retrieved 5 March 2011. 
6. ^ Miller, John; Associated Press (7 November 2006). "Otter will be Idaho's next governor". Spokesman Review. http://www.spokesmanreview.com/breaking/story.asp?ID=7845. Retrieved 5 March 2011. 

External links

• Governor C. L. “Butch” Otter official state website
• Biography at the National Governors Association
• Biography, interest group ratings, public statements, vetoes and campaign finances at Project Vote Smart
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
• Campaign contributions at FollowTheMoney.org
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Appearances at the Internet Movie Database
• Profile at Notable Names Database

U.S. Representative 2001–2007

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission