Phil Batt
Phil Batt | |
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File:Phil Batt 2010.jpg
Batt in 2010
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29th Governor of Idaho | |
In office January 2, 1995 – January 8, 1999 |
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Lieutenant | Butch Otter |
Preceded by | Cecil Andrus |
Succeeded by | Dirk Kempthorne |
35th Lieutenant Governor of Idaho | |
In office January 1, 1979 – January 3, 1983 |
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Governor | John Evans |
Preceded by | William Murphy |
Succeeded by | David Leroy |
34th President pro tempore of the Idaho Senate | |
In office December 1, 1976 – December 1, 1978 |
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Preceded by | James Ellsworth |
Succeeded by | Reed Budge |
Member of the Idaho Senate | |
In office 1967–1979 |
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Member of the Idaho House of Representatives | |
In office 1965–1967 |
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Personal details | |
Born | Philip Eugene Batt March 4, 1927 Wilder, Idaho |
Nationality | United States |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse(s) | Jacque Elaine Fallis Batt (m.1948) |
Children | 1 son, 2 daughters [1] |
Residence | Wilder |
Alma mater | University of Idaho (2 years) |
Profession | Farmer, politician, musician |
Religion | Baptist |
Military service | |
Service/branch | U.S. Army |
Years of service | 1945–46 |
Unit | Army Air Forces |
Philip Eugene "Phil" Batt (born March 4, 1927) is an American politician with the Republican Party. He was the 29th Governor of Idaho, from 1995 to 1999.
Contents
Early years
Born in Wilder, Idaho, Batt was the fifth and youngest child of John and Elizabeth Karn Batt,[1] and grew up on the family farm near Wilder in southwestern Idaho. Though his paternal grandparents were Mormon missionary immigrants from England, Batt was raised a Baptist, as this was his mother's faith. Due to a shortage of students, he started first grade early (age 5.5), but later missed a fall semester in high school during World War II to help his aging father with the harvest and graduated mid-year during the 1944–45 school year.
Career
Batt enlisted in the service on his 17th birthday in 1944; with a brother-in-law killed at Guadalcanal (and a brother who later lost an arm at Okinawa), he aimed to be a fighter pilot to avenge the damage to his family.
Still not eighteen, he briefly attended the University of Idaho in Moscow in north Idaho, then entered the Army Air Forces in 1945 and was in basic training during V-J Day in August.
With the war over, fighter pilots were not needed so Batt served sixteen months in Colorado at Lowry Field near Denver as a clerk, discharging veterans before being discharged himself. He then returned to the UI[2][3] and studied chemical engineering, lived in the dorms, and led a dance band, playing clarinet and tenor saxophone.[4] (Half a century later as governor, Batt played with Lionel Hampton in Moscow at the jazz legend's UI festival.)[5]
A year later in January 1948, he eloped with Jacque Fallis of Spokane,[6] a member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority.[7] The newlyweds had to leave school a month later when Batt's 66-year-old father was involved in a serious automobile accident which left him with limited strength and speech. Though the young Batts initially hoped to return to college, economic circumstances changed their plans and they reluctantly did not.[8]
State offices
Before becoming governor, Batt had been a Republican politician in Idaho for thirty years, serving in the state legislature (house 1965–67, state senate 1967–79) and as the 35th lieutenant governor from 1979 to 1983.[9] He ran for governor in 1982 and was defeated in a close race by the Democratic incumbent, John Evans. The election was so close that at least one television network declared Batt the winner on Election Night.[10][11] Future U.S Senator and Governor Dirk Kempthorne served as his campaign manager.
Batt returned to the state senate with victories in 1984[12] and 1986, then resigned in the spring of 1988 to sit on the three-member state transportation board, appointed by Governor Andrus.[13] Batt was elected chairman of the Idaho Republican Party in January 1991,[14] and after a successful two years, he stepped aside in April 1993 to re-enter electoral politics in 1994.[15]
Governor
Batt won the Republican gubernatorial primary in 1994 with 48% of the vote, and defeated state attorney general Larry EchoHawk in the general election 52% to 44%,[16] for the first GOP victory for governor in 28 years.[17] Despite high popularity, he chose to serve only one term, citing his age, and left office at age 71.[18] Succeeding Batt, Kempthorne won two terms and Butch Otter three terms, giving the Republicans six consecutive wins through 2014.
Among Batt's more notable accomplishments as governor was pushing through worker's compensation for agricultural workers and negotiating a pact limiting nuclear waste storage in Idaho.[18] During his term, Idaho's cabinet had a higher percentage of women than any other state.
Year | Democrat | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | ||||
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1982 | John Evans (inc.) | 187,640 | 52.9% | Phil Batt | 166,911 | 47.1% | ||||||||
1994 | Larry Echo Hawk | 191,362 | 45.2% | Phil Batt | 216,123 | 51.1% | Ronald Rankin | Independent | 15,793 | 3.7% |
Legacy
Batt has self-published two books since leaving office, a memoir titled The Compleat Phil Batt: A Kaleidoscope (ISBN 0-9677135-5-2), in 1999, and a compilation of humorous stories, Life as a Geezer, in 2002. Batt, who has a gay grandson who lives out of state, supports Add The Words.[19]
References
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External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Phil Batt. |
- Idaho Public Television: Phil Batt
- The Almanac of American Politics: Phil Batt
- National Governors Association
Political offices | ||
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Preceded by | Lieutenant Governor of Idaho January 1, 1979 – January 3, 1983 |
Succeeded by David H. Leroy |
Preceded by | Governor of Idaho January 5, 1995 – January 4, 1999 |
Succeeded by Dirk Kempthorne |
Party political offices | ||
Preceded by | Republican Party nominee, Governor of Idaho 1982 (lost) |
Succeeded by David H. Leroy |
Preceded by | Republican Party nominee, Governor of Idaho 1994 (won) |
Succeeded by Dirk Kempthorne |
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- ↑ http://www.idahostatesman.com/2014/02/27/3052247/batt-urges-idaho-lawmakers-to.html
- Pages with reference errors
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- Governors of Idaho
- Lieutenant Governors of Idaho
- Idaho State Senators
- Members of the Idaho House of Representatives
- Farmers from Idaho
- American people of English descent
- Idaho Republicans
- Baptists from the United States
- 1927 births
- Living people
- People from Canyon County, Idaho
- United States Army Air Forces soldiers
- American military personnel of World War II
- Republican Party state governors of the United States