C. L. Otter
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C. L. "Butch" Otter | |
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32nd Governor of Idaho
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Incumbent | |
Assumed office January 1, 2007 |
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Lieutenant(s) | Jim Risch |
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Preceded by | Jim Risch |
Succeeded by | Incumbent |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Idaho's 1st district
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In office January 3, 2001 – January 1, 2007 |
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Preceded by | Helen Chenoweth-Hage |
Succeeded by | Bill Sali |
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Born | May 3, 1942 (age 64)![]() |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Lori Easley |
Profession | Agribusiness |
Religion | Roman Catholic |
Clement Leroy "Butch" Otter (b. May 3, 1942, Caldwell, Idaho) has been Governor of Idaho since January 2007. Otter previously represented the state's First Congressional District.
He was also Lieutenant Governor of Idaho from 1987 to 2001. He is the first Idahoan since statehood to win election as both United States Representative and governor. Otter is the second Roman Catholic to serve as Governor of Idaho.
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[edit] Early life and career
Otter earned his B.A. in political science from the College of Idaho in 1967. He served the Idaho Army National Guard's 116th Armored Cavalry from 1968 to 1973. He received specialized training at Fort Knox, Kentucky.
Otter's business experience includes spending 30 years with Simplot International, a potato, livestock and feeding operation. He eventually rose to that company's presidency.
In 1964 Otter married Gay Simplot, daughter of his longtime employer, J. R. Simplot. The couple divorced in 1992.
Otter's 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. Afterwards Otter remained active in the Idaho Republican Party, holding several state and county positions.
[edit] 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 Republican 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.
[edit] 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 changed his views on the Patriot Act, and now believes 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 domestic spying efforts. He has served as a deputy majority whip for most of his time in Congress despite his opposition to many key Bush Administration policies.
[edit] 2006 election
On December 15, 2004, 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 shows 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. [1] The Democrats have not held the governorship since 1995, and since 1998 it was usually a foregone conclusion that the Republicans would win.
Otter managed to pull away in the final days, and won the election 52-44%--the closest gubernatorial race since 1995.
[edit] Position on gray wolves
Otter's position on Idaho's endangered gray wolves has generally unnerved environmentalists.
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. At the rally with about 300 hunters, Otter said, "I'm prepared to bid for that first ticket to shoot a wolf myself," and complained that wolves are rapidly killing elk and other animals essential to Idaho's multimillion-dollar hunting industry.
Suzanne Stone, a spokeswoman for the advocacy group Defenders of Wildlife in Boise, said that Otter's proposal confirmed her organization's worst fears: that the governor's move was political and contrary to the principles of biological management[2].
[edit] Personal
On August 18, 2006, Otter married his longtime girlfriend Lori Easley in Meridian.[1] The two met in 1991 when Easley was Miss Idaho USA. Otter's first marriage was later annulled by the Catholic Church so that he could marry Easley, who is 25 years his junior. Otter had come under fire for this from some social conservatives, including Mark Ricks, a former Republican state senator and lieutenant governor.
[edit] Otter on the Issues
Otter's evaluations by these groups are fairly typical of conservative Republicans:
Rated 17% by the NEA, indicating anti-public education votes. (Dec 2003)
Rated 11% by APHA, indicating an anti-public health voting record. (Dec 2003)
Rated 10% by the ARA, indicating an anti-senior voting record. (Dec 2003)
Rated 5% by the LCV, indicating anti-environmentalist votes. (Dec 2003)
Rated 33% by SANE, indicating a mixed record on military issues. (Dec 2003)
Rated 20% by the ACLU, indicating an anti-ACLU voting record. (Dec 2002)
Rated 0% by NARAL, indicating a pro-life voting record. (Dec 2003)
Rated 67% by CATO, indicating a pro-free trade voting record. (Dec 2002)
Rated 71% by NTU, indicating "Satisfactory" on tax votes. (Dec 2003)
Rated 0% by the AFL-CIO, indicating an anti-labor union voting record. (Dec 2003)
Rated 100% by FAIR, indicating a voting record restricting immigration. (Dec 2003)
Rated 97% by the US COC, indicating a pro-business voting record. (Dec 2003)
Rated 92% by the Christian Coalition, indicating a pro-life, anti-gay marriage voting record. (Dec 2003)
(source: http://www.issues2000.org/)
[edit] References
- ^ Associated Press. Otter and Easley Exchange Vows. August 18, 2006
[edit] External links
- Idaho Governor C. L. “Butch†Otter official state site
- National Governors Association - Idaho Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter biography
- Follow the Money - C L (Butch) Otter 2004 campaign contributions
- On the Issues - Butch Otter issue positions and quotes
- Project Vote Smart - Governor Clement Leroy 'Butch' Otter (ID) profile
U.S. Representative 2001-2007
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Washington Post - Congress Votes Database: Butch Otter voting record 2001-2007
Articles
- From 'Mr. Tight Jeans' to gubernatorial hopeful Betsy Rothstein, The Hill, April 6, 2005
- Arrest of manager casts pall over Otter campaign Idaho Statesman, February 16, 2005
Preceded by David H. Leroy |
Lieutenant Governor of Idaho January 5, 1987–January 3, 2001 |
Succeeded by Jack Riggs |
Preceded by Helen Chenoweth-Hage |
United States Representative for Idaho's 1st Congressional District January 3, 2001 - January 1, 2007 |
Succeeded by Bill Sali |
Preceded by Jim Risch |
Governor of Idaho January 1, 2007– |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
Governors of Idaho | ![]() |
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Shoup • Willey • McConnell • Steunenberg • Hunt • Morrison • Gooding • Brady • Hawley • Haines • Alexander • Davis • Moore • Baldridge • Ross • B. Clark • Bottolfsen • C. Clark • Bottolfsen • Gossett • Williams • Robins • Jordan • Smylie • Samuelson • Andrus • Evans • Andrus • Batt • Kempthorne • Risch • Otter |