Robert Smylie, 89; Three-Term Governor Oversaw Creation of Idaho’s Parks, Water Agencies

Robert Smylie, the only man elected to three consecutive terms as governor of Idaho, has died. He was 89.

Smylie died Saturday at his home in Boise. He had recently struggled with pneumonia and other illnesses, including emphysema, cancer and congestive heart failure, said his son, Idaho state Rep. Steve Smylie.

”... To say that I was fond of being governor is a majestic piece of understatement,” Smylie wrote in his autobiography, “Governor Smylie Remembers,” published in 1998.

He liked it so much he had state law changed to allow a governor to succeed himself -- and he did it twice. He was also the first governor to succeed himself after Idaho doubled the term of office from two years to four.

Elected in 1954, 1958 and 1962, the moderate Republican lost a party nomination for a fourth term in 1966. At the time, Smylie was president of the National Republican Governors’ Assn. and rumored as a vice presidential contender.

Some observers -- including Smylie, as he wrote in his book -- attributed his 1966 defeat to his controversial introduction of Idaho’s first sales tax the previous year, which he sold to voters as necessary to support education.

Nevertheless, he wrote in 1998: “Enactment of the 1965 sales tax was undoubtedly the most important legislative act of Idaho’s 100 years. Its passage marked a defining moment in the state’s struggle toward political economic maturity.”

During Smylie’s tenure, Idaho established a public employee retirement system, a state parks department and a department of water resources. Smylie also maintained a balanced annual budget throughout his time in office.

Smylie was born in Marcus, Iowa, in 1914 and saw Idaho for the first time as a student at the College of Idaho in Caldwell. He graduated in 1938 and worked his way through George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C., as a member of the Capitol Police Force.

He spent World War II in the Coast Guard and then married before returning to Idaho in 1947 to work as a deputy to Atty. Gen. Robert Ailshie. When Ailshie died later that year, Smylie replaced him. He won his own four-year term in 1950.

Smylie is survived by his wife, Lucille; sons Steve and Robert William; and two granddaughters.