Otter does the old soft shoe in Moscow

Sept. 26--MOSCOW -- Idaho Gov. C.L. (Butch) Otter began his second day in the region by doing the "Cupid Shuffle" -- something he said was easy to do to the right, but not the left.

Otter made the political joke after performing the four-step dance on stage during the Smart Women, Smart Money conference in Moscow, where he spoke briefly Thursday about financial planning. He then stopped at the University of Idaho to discuss the state's college savings account program.

The Republican governor -- who is running for a third term this year against Democrat A.J. Balukoff -- also spent Wednesday in Lenore for his Capital for a Day event before heading to the Palouse.

Approximately 500 women filled a large conference room at the Best Western Plus University Inn for the Smart Women, Smart Money event. The conference was organized by Idaho Treasurer Ron Crane and is being held at various cities around the state as an education opportunity for women wanting to learn more about managing their finances.

Otter told the women in attendance that life happens when a person plans something different. A perfect example of that was when Otter first became governor in 2007.

The governor said he planned for his first term to be a success with a good economy and healthy budget. Idaho's budget was $3.2 billion that first year. Otter said the state's budget dropped to $2.2 billion three years later when the Great Recession hit hard in 2008.

Otter explained how the Idaho Constitution dictates state government cannot spend more than its revenues while at the same time providing public education, safety and health and welfare services. He said those three areas make up 94 percent of Idaho's budget.

The governor said he gives a lot of credit to four women on his cabinet for their skills and ability to manage their individual department budgets, despite the decreased funding.

"As much as I've learned from my smart ladies on my cabinet, I could learn a lot more," Otter said.

Otter and his wife, Lori, who also spoke at the conference, stopped on the UI campus promptly after their remarks at the financial event to highlight Idaho's college savings program called Ideal.

Ideal is a savings account where invested money can grow tax-free for a college education. The invested money can be withdrawn from the account tax-free when the student enters college to cover tuition, fees, books, equipment and some room and board.

Crane, who accompanied Otter at the UI news conference, told about 30 people in attendance that $312 million had been invested in the 25,232 savings accounts open at the end of August. There are about 13,200 savings account owners.

The savings program encourages all Idaho residents to consider investing in higher education for their children, Otter said.

Otter said he was the only one of his nine siblings to attend college -- something his parents had hoped each of them would be able to do. He had the same hope for his four children. His family now holds seven degrees. Otter said he has the same goal for his seven grandchildren and thinks the Ideal program will help others accomplish similar goals.

"We encourage those big plans," Otter said, "but those big plans require pretty artistic planning."

Rudd may be contacted at erudd@lmtribune.com or (208) 791-8465. Follow her on Twitter @elizabeth_rudd.

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