Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne
Posted on 03/16/2006 1:49:36 PM PST by RWR8189
Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne to be named Interior Secretary... Developing...
Anybody know if this puts Idaho's governorship at risk? This president has an annoying habit of grabbing republican governors and taking them from races they could win.
I wouldn't worry too much about Idaho going Dem. They haven't had a real lefty in there since Frank Church was voted out of the Senate. Idaho and Utah are two of the SAFEST states.
My first act in office would be to eliminate my position.
Idaho Governor Named Interior Secretary
By DAVID ESPO
The Associated Press
Thursday, March 16, 2006; 4:50 PM
WASHINGTON -- President Bush has chosen Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne to be Interior secretary, Republican officials said Thursday.
Bush was to make the announcement in the Oval Office later in the day.
Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne gives his annual State of the State address before a joint session of the legislature in this Monday, Jan. 9, 2006 file photo, inside the House chambers of the Statehouse in downtown Boise, Idaho. President Bush has chosen Kempthorne to be Interior secretary, Republican officials said Thursday.
Kempthorne would succeed Gale Norton, who resigned Friday after five years in Bush's Cabinet, at a time when her agency was part of a lobbying scandal over Indian gaming licenses.
Bush, accepting her resignation, called Norton a strong advocate for "the wise use and protection of our nation's natural resources."
Kempthorne, a former U.S. senator, has served two terms as governor and has said he would not run again in the election this year.
He's spent the past year pushing for more state parks and revamping and expanding the road systems with money raised from bonds. In the last legislative session, he vetoed several bills until his road bill was approved, essentially stopping the legislative process until he got his way.
As leader of the National Governors Association, Kempthorne emphasized the challenge of providing long-term health care, citing his experience with his own parents.
Born in San Diego, he grew up in Spokane, Wash., graduated from the University of Idaho in 1975 and worked for FMC Corp. and the Idaho Homebuilders Association before being elected mayor of Boise in 1986.
He served as mayor until 1993, going on to serve six years in the U.S. Senate, filling the seat vacated in 1992 by incumbent Steve Simms.
After then-Idaho Gov. Phil Batt announced he was retiring in September 1997, Kempthorne won the post by carrying every Idaho county but one. He was re-elected in 2004.
His political career has touched on several land and wildlife issues. Kempthorne has sued the Bush administration over its November 2000 decision to reintroduce grizzlies into the Bitterroot range, a proposal that was ultimately withdrawn in 2001 by U.S. Fish and Wildlife. He was also part of a four-state salmon recovery effort, working with Indian tribes in the region as well as the Northwest Power Planning Council.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/16/AR2006031601319.html
Cecil Andrus was a dem Governor of Idaho. Jimmy Carter picked him to be Secretary of the Interior during his term as president. As Interior Secretary Andrus was responsible for creating vast wilderness areas in Alaska. In 1979, when Carter demanded the resignations of his entire cabinet, Andrus refused to comply. Andrus returned to Idaho when Carter's presidency ended in 1981.
a short bio says:
Senator from Idaho; born in San Diego, San Diego County, Calif., October 29, 1951; graduated, University of Idaho 1976; campaign manager for gubernatorial candidate Phil Batt 1982; executive assistant to the director, Idaho Department of Lands 1976-1978; executive vice president, Idaho Home Builders Association 1978-1981; state public affairs manager, FMC Corporation 1983-1986; mayor of Boise, Idaho 1985-1992; elected as a Republican to the United States Senate in 1992 for the term ending January 3, 1999; not a candidate for reelection in 1998; became governor of Idaho in 1999.His stance on roads into government forests and range lands is that the new powers Bush has delivered back to the states is the first time in 30 years that the citizens of the states have been able to claim usage and access issues and he will hold meeting to collect requests and permit usages that are requested for reasonable purposes to correct this 30 year hold.
See http://www.mtexpress.com/index2.php?issue_date=06-24-2005&ID=2005103757 for the full article on roads.
CNN: "We received the following response from the DNC on this development:
"Mr. ______ is unacceptable in this position and will be a shill for Big Oil interests."
Oops. It appears the DNC had not finished this press release before they emailed it to us. We will follow up with them later."
In other news today, a new poll was taken ....
They should put someone from Hayden Lake or Coeur d'Alene in charge of Homeland Security.
Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne
What is the interior secretary?
He's the one governor I've actually gotten to meet (kind of) in several meetings in Idaho. I like him a lot. Sounds like a good choice to me.
I should play the lottery! :)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1593956/posts?page=25#25
Interior is over BLM, BIA and Park Service, Fish and Wildlife, Bureau of Reclaimation, Minerals Management, Office of Surface Mining and USGS.
http://www.doi.gov/
Thanks!
What is thy bidding, oh my master......
Pretty sure he said several months ago that he wasn't going to run for another term.
With the BIA and the mineral people, what happens at the Interior does have an impact in OK.
Its interesting, since the Forest Service is under Dept. of Agriculture, that Interior has a limited impact on the FS (although funding for the FS is done in a weird shuffle between Interior and Ag) and the FS is hugely important to what goes on in Idaho, but so is the BLM.
It will, on the other hand, have a big impact on Nevada.
I thought he was term-limited out anyway.
He is, but the question is who becomes the new Idaho governor between now and the election?
You might think a reporter would look into that.
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