Preston was made capital Wednesday for Gov. Butch Otter’s 70th “Capital for a Day,” and many residents were there to greet Otter and express concerns about local issues and state and federal government.

Over 100 people were in attendance throughout the day, and 12 other state officials were there to answer any and all questions.

Many topics were brought up, but one in particular seemed to bother Gov. Otter.

Tom Miller, who campaigned for Otter, asked him, “Where did you get that mask and what did you do with Butch?”

Miller said Otter had changed from the person who believed in property rights, small government and local power.

The false story of China purchasing 50,000 acres of land in Idaho was brought up by Miller, which was instantly refuted by Otter, who said nothing like that ever happened.

Obamacare is unconstitutional, Miller said, and Otter should do something to make sure Idaho doesn’t have to participate.

Otter responded by saying he was sorry Miller felt that he had changed in some way or wasn’t sticking up for Idaho. With regard to trying to get Idaho out of participating in the Affordable Care Act, he said he had tried almost everything; but since the Supreme Court ruling that the federal government could force citizens to purchase health insurance, there’s nothing more that can be done.

“We lost that case last June,” he said. “We are implementing it because it’s the law of the land.”

Common Core and local education was another big topic at the forum. Jennifer Tilitson, from Weston, and Jenny Ray, from Cub River, asked why Idaho is participating in Common Core.

With questions about curriculum and testing, Tilitson said local communities should have more of a say in what their children are learning in school.

There have been some controversies about approved reading lists from Common Core, she said, and some of those books are inappropriate for any child to read in school.

“I don’t want someone telling me what the whole nation should be learning because of (what) this one group of people think they have to learn,” she said. “This moral relativity that is being propagated through Common Core, that there will be no right and wrong, no truth and error.”

Jason Hancock, the deputy chief of staff for the Idaho State Department of Education, said there is no national curriculum or state approved book list.

“By and large, educators have been very supportive of these standards,” he said. “We were training a generation of kids who were good test takers but weren’t really good critical thinkers.”

The focus of common core, he said, is to focus on helping students learn how to research and analyze information. It will help kids to use more logic and to be more analytical, he said, which is something he wants to encourage.

While neither Tilitson nor Ray felt alleviated by the response, Tilitson said they will see what happens with Common Core and hope that things are the way Hancock said they are.

More topics arose throughout the day and Otter said this is why he thinks these meetings are so important.

He has held these forums almost every month since he became governor to help keep the smaller communities involved in state government. He said this is a great opportunity to hear what residents concerns are and to talk openly with those in government to get things done that mean the most to the people of Idaho.

Kelly Pearce, the administrator of the Idaho Division of Building Safety, was at the meeting and said resident involvement is why “Capital for a Day” is so successful. They can voice their concerns and have answers instantly from those in charge of making changes.

“This is what government’s all about,” Pierce said. “This is what Idaho’s all about.”