Gov. Butch Otter will hold his next “Capital for a Day” event on May 17 near his ranch in Star, less than 20 miles from the actual state Capitol in Boise.  The governor will bring several other top state officials, including Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna, Lt. Gov. Brad Little, Idaho Department of Health and Welfare Director Richard Armstrong, Idaho Transportation Department Director Brian Ness, and more than a dozen others.

“It’s time to give the good folks right here in my hometown a chance to get some ‘face time’,” said Otter in a news release.  “I stop in town for coffee almost every morning, but I don’t bring any Cabinet members with me.  This will give residents a chance to get their questions answered personally and directly, and it will give members of my administration a chance to get to know a community that reflects Idaho’s rural heritage while coping with southwestern Idaho’s population growth and all that comes along with it.”

The Idaho Freedom Foundation reported that the governor’s Capital for a Day events cost an average of $8,200 for transportation and state officials’ salaries.  The cost is usually less for the town-hall style meetings in cities closer to the actual state capital, since the governor and other officials can drive rather than fly.  The event in Star will be the closest Capital for a Day event to Boise.  Emmett hosted the event in July 2008, with transportation costs of $36.27

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