Little lays out his plan

COEUR d’ALENE — If elected governor, Lt. Gov. Brad Little said he wants to keep growing Idaho’s prosperity.

“Every decision that crosses my desk will be run through the lens of how to make the best opportunity for our kids,” he said in an interview at The Press on Friday.

Keeping Idaho youth here, and bringing back the ones who have moved away, depends on Idaho offering the quality of life, education, infrastructure, and good jobs that are attractive, he said.

Another must-have for rural Idaho towns is internet capacity, he said. The government can assist in the process by requiring that each new road or sidewalk have conduit so it will be available for future use. He also said investing some money to expand internet pipelines at schools would pay off for Idaho communities.

On health care, Little is working to get the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to approve non-Affordable Care Act health plans in the state. He said no matter what voters decide on election day, the stringent requirements of Idaho ballot iniatives means that the voters’ decision on Medicaid expansion should be respected.

“I’ve always said we have to do someting about the gap,” he said.

Little strongly supported parimutuel horse racing as a legislator, supports this year’s historical horse racing initiative, and said big casinos on the Washington side of the state line represent a far greater threat to Idaho’s tribal casinos than does the initiative.

The lieutenant governor supports expanding substance abuse programs to reach kids using drugs before they get hauled into drug court. He said mandatory minimums have warded off some drug-related crime from Idaho.

“I want to get something done” about early childhood education, said Little, who expressed skepticism that the Legislature would approve statewide pre-kindergarten programs. With the Idaho Reading Indicator in place as a gold standard for measuring early reading skills, Little said his main objective would be to get more resources in the hands of school districts to enable their students to learn, while retaining the school districts’ flexibility and freedom to determine how best to get the job done.

The candidate did not shy away from carrying the mantle of the Otter administration. He appreciates the learning opportunities his nine years as lieutenant governor have afforded him. He praised the bipartisan consensus-building Gov. Butch Otter did during the recession and after voters rejected the Luna laws in 2012. Little said those efforts represent the DNA of Idaho.

“You’re darned right I learned from him,” said Little. “I have no apologies.”