Building roads has always been a premier and visual sign of politics at work.
Some projects are introduced with huge roadside signs announcing, "A Sign of Progress," followed with names of the state's governor and other politicians who presumably expect appropriate gratitude at election time from users.
But Idaho Gov. Butch Otter should have expected little joy or political gain in recent celebrations of several road projects that were unveiled in overblown public relations events that cost an excessive $70,000 in state highway funds to generate media coverage.
Having boasted in his State of the State address that the Idaho Transportation Department would "stretch our transportation dollars farther than ever" as the result of more efficient operations, the $60,000 paid to a public relations firm and $10,000 for in-house planning work seemed to be an off-key note in Gov. Otter's orchestration of budget tightening.
Not spending the $70,000 wouldn't have materially improved the state's bleak budget outlook—projected at well over $2 billion and requiring drastic cuts.
But not spending on what amounted to photo-ops for the governor and politicians would have sent a far more meritorious message to taxpayers—that the governor and his ITD are serious about watchdogging every penny in spending to guarantee it's worthwhile, not frivolous or politically self-serving.
Voters don't need media photo-ops to know that roadwork has been completed.
Worth remembering is the proverb, "There's no limit to the good a man can do if he doesn't care who gets the credit."
