FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   January 5, 2006

Contact: Chuck Oxley (208) 226-1815 or (208) 871-4976 chuck@idaho-democrats.org

 

Stallings: Otter Still Doesn’t Get It

 

BOISE, Idaho – Idaho Democratic Party Chairman Richard Stallings said Thursday that Republican congressman C.L. “Butch” Otter still doesn’t understand that his job as a representative from Idaho is to preserve and protect public access to federal lands – not just stand silently while others auction it off.

 

“Butch Otter still doesn’t get it,” said Stallings, a former congressman from Idaho’s 2^nd Congressional District. “It’s not enough for Otter simply to take his name off the legislation. If he was doing his job, Otter would be actively fighting against this bill and any others that would do the same thing.”

 

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brady last month denounced Otter’s cosponsorship of H.R. 3855, a federal bill sponsored by Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., which seeks to sell off 15 percent of the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and other Department of Interior lands. The bill would use proceeds from the sales to pay for reconstruction of Hurricane Katrina.

 

For the past several weeks, Otter, who is seeking the Republican nomination to the governor’s office in 2006, has defended his actions -- despite a cascade of calls from ordinary Idahoans who didn’t want to see their favorite hunting, fishing or camping grounds sold off to the highest bidder. Sportsman’s groups and former wildlife professionals also criticized Otter’s decision to lend his name to it as a co-sponsor.

An online newspaper poll by The Idaho Statesman earlier this week indicated more than 85 percent of the people opposed the idea. Stallings said it was highly suspect that just days after the poll came out, Otter decided to change his tune.

“He’s just trying to make this issue go away before the election season. It’s too bad that Idahoans have to threaten his job to get him to listen to them,” Stallings said. “While he may have reversed course in this case, what will happen the next time? This is not who we want as our state’s next chief executive.”

At a separate legislative discussion forum earlier on Thursday,  state Senate Minority Leader Clint Stennett, D-Ketchum, said he intends to sponsor an Joint Memorial to Congress that will put Idaho firmly and officially on record as being opposed to wholesale sell-offs of federal lands. Stennett said later Thursday that he still intends to move forward with the bill.