Governor Butch Otter's Lt. Governor, Jim Risch, will resign soon to take his seat as a US Senator.
Who will Butch appoint to fill that vacancy?
Lots of names tend to pop up, at times like this: new faces, old ones, good friends of the current Governor and politically expedient people as well....especially for a Governor who will most assuredly seek re-election.
What should Gov. Otter do?
Here are some facts for his and our consideration:
- Appointed Lt. Governors have a very short shelf-life and they should.
- Former Governor Kempthorne appointed a sitting State Senator (and college friend) who ran in the next election and was trounced by Jim Risch and others, as voters had their say.
- When Lt. Governor Risch assumed the Governorship, as Kempthorne was appointed Sec. of the Interior, the new Governor chose a tried and true leader - one who had no political aspirations.
- As Risch left the Governorship and was re-elected as Lt. Governor, his previous appointee stepped out of the way, as was expected.
- Now, Governor Otter must appoint someone, pending Risch's ascent to the US Senate.
But who?
My call? Former Governor Phill Batt. He would be the best thing for Idaho.
Especially since he has ALL the experience and does not need the office. Though he and I have had our differences in the past, we reconnected a while back at Helen Chenoweth's funeral and I thanked him for the fiscally responsible way he had run the state during his administration. It was a warm and heart-felt surprise meeting under the difficult circumstances of her funeral.
Let the herd of candidates run for the Lt. Governor seat in 2010. Let them all have equal footing....and in the meanwhile, let Idaho be governed by a great Governor and a great Lt. Governor.
Hey, a former Governor returning as a Lt. Governor? We all saw it work just a little bit ago.
That's my call.
Den
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