Candidate Profile-C.L. Butch Otter
Birth date: May 3, 1942
Profession: Governor; 30-year business career with the J.R. Simplot Company
Educational background: BA, College of Idaho
Public service (elected or appointed offices): Governor, 2006-present; three terms in Congress representing 1st Dist. 2000-2006; Idaho Lt. Governor, four terms; Idaho Legislature, representing Canyon County, 1973-1976
Community service (service clubs, nonprofit boards, etc.): Member of the National Rifle Association, the Maple Grove State Grange, the Idaho Cowboys Association, and the Idaho 4-H Million Dollar Club. A Grand Slam member of Ducks Unlimited, Lifetime member of Safari Club International, was elected to the National Cowboy Hall of Fame Board of Directors in Oklahoma City in 1991, and is a lifetime member of American Legion Post 113 in Meridian.
How many years as a resident of your city: Lifelong Idahoan, resident of Star for 16 years
Marital status: Married
Family: Wife, Lori; Four children, five grandchildren
Why are you running for office?
We’ve been tested and toughened by adversity, and I’m eager to take on the challenges ahead. To meet them we must maintain a family- and business-friendly tax and regulatory environment that nurtures innovation and creation of career opportunities. We must keep working to ensure State government is efficient, responsive and living within the people’s means. And we must not let the federal government impose unfunded mandates and unwanted restrictions on the people of Idaho.
What do you see as the three biggest issues you’ll face?
o Improving our economy and creating more career-path jobs
o Improve public education and opportunities for all Idaho students
o Protecting our citizens from an increasingly intrusive federal government
If elected, what steps will you take to resolve these issues?
I will keep pursuing our Project 60 goals – creating career-path jobs by growing Idaho’s economy. That means maintaining a stable, predictable tax and regulatory climate; ensuring State government keeps getting more effective, efficient and responsible in using taxpayer dollars; improving educational opportunities for Idaho’s young people and mid-career workers, and working to protect the rights and freedoms of Idahoans against threats to our sovereignty, lifestyle and livelihoods.
What specific skills or experience qualify you for this job?
What you see is what you get. I am Idaho, through and through. I am a father, grandfather, husband and son. I am seeking the privilege of serving you as Governor because I have a deep and abiding belief in the power of every individual to make a difference – in their communities, their state and their nation. I have a great reverence for the Constitution and the ideals of those who framed it, and I know that ensuring America’s future greatness is up to states like Idaho.
Why should voters elect you, rather than an opponent?
Please see response to the previous question.