Capitol View: June 14, 2011 Archive

Briggs and Morgan lines up on GOP side of redistricting battle

Posted at 3:11 PM on June 14, 2011 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Campaign 2012, MN Legislature, Mark Dayton, Redistricting, U.S. House, U.S. Senate

Three attorneys for Briggs and Morgan have filed as "attorneys of record" for eight citizens in a redistricting case. The attorneys; former MN Supreme Court Justice Eric Magnuson, Elizabeth Brama and Michael Wilhelm, all filed the paperwork this morning to say that they would represent the eight Republican citizens who have filed lawsuits both in federal and state courts.

The Republican Party of Minnesota is working with an independent group, "Minnesotans for a Fair Redistricting," on redistricting efforts.

Magnuson said he's working on behalf of the eight clients listed in the legal filings and is willing to work on the issue in both state and federal court.

"I will work on both of them with the exception that I can't appear before the Minnesota Supreme Court," Magnuson said. "But we have other attorneys in our office that can do that." Magnuson left his position on the Minnesota Supreme Court last June. The Minnesota Supreme Court is asking former justices to wait three years before they appear before the Minnesota Supreme Court.

One of the citizens being represented by Magnuson, Gregg Peppin, said a lot of the litigation work has been coordinated by the Minnesota Republican Party and "Minnesotans for a Fair Redistricting." He said the filing indicates that Briggs and Morgan will be working with attorney Tony Trimble on redistricting efforts for Republicans in Minnesota.

"They told me they were going to get a litigator and this confirms that," Peppin said about Magnuson's filing.

Minnesota Republican Party Chair Tony Sutton confirmed that Briggs and Morgan has been hired by "Minnesotans for a Fair Redistricting" but said he or other members of the MNGOP have nothing to do with the hiring. He said former MNGOP Chair Chris Georgacus is heading "Minnesotans for a Fair Redistricting."

The decision to hire Briggs and Morgan sets up another battle of legal heavyweights. Magnuson, a former Minnesota Supreme Court Justice appointed by former Gov. Tim Pawlenty, represented the Minnesota Republican Party and Republican Tom Emmer in the 2010 gubernatorial recount.

Democrats have hired Washington D.C. attorney Marc Elias and Minneapolis attorney David Lillehaug to head up the DFL Party's redistricting efforts in court. Elias represented Gov. Mark Dayton in the 2010 gubernatorial recount and Sen. Al Franken in the 2008 U.S. Senate recount.

The Minnesota DFL Party has also been working with the outside group, Democratic National Redistricting Trust, on its legal efforts. That group is also being represented by Elias.

One of the reasons independent groups, and not state parties, are working on redistricting efforts is to avoid campaign contribution limits and disclosure laws. The McCain/Feingold law forbids parties from raising unlimited amounts of soft money to pay for political activity and redistricting efforts. Independent groups can raise soft money.

Republicans and Democrats in Minnesota have been lining up for a lengthy and costly court battle over how the state's political boundaries should be drawn. The courts are being asked to prepare for the possibility that Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton and GOP legislative leaders won't reach agreement on a redistricting plan. Dayton vetoed the GOP-backed plan last month. The courts will take over the process if an agreement isn't reached by February 21.

A federal judge held a hearing last week on a request by several Democrats to have federal court oversee the drawing of the state's political maps. Republican attorneys have argued that redistricting matters must move through state court first.

Dayton to file shutdown plan on Wednesday

Posted at 5:38 PM on June 14, 2011 by Tom Scheck (2 Comments)
Filed under: 2011 Shutdown, MN Legislature, Mark Dayton

Gov. Dayton's spokeswoman Katharine Tinucci says Dayton will file a petition with Ramsey County District Court on Wednesday that outlines what state services Dayton thinks should continue if the government shuts down on July 1. The filing will be the next step in the process of planning for a state shutdown.

The Department of Human Services notified more than 600,000 low income Minnesotans that state subsidized health insurance coverage, cash assistance, food support and child care assistance may be discontinued on July 1. The state also sent 36,000 layoff notices to state employees last week.

Dayton told reporters this afternoon that he's hoping he can reach a budget deal with GOP legislative leaders in time to avoid a shutdown but said the public has to weigh in if they're worried about a shutdown in services.

"There are going to be an enormous amount of very, very serious effects on many good people throughout the state," Dayton said. "This is, as I've been delving into it over the last couple of weeks, a terrible outcome for the state so it can be avoided."

Dayton and GOP legislative leaders are at odds over the best way to erase the state's $5 billion projected budget deficit. The two sides are $1.8 billion apart. Dayton wants to raise income taxes on Minnesota's top earners to balance the budget. Republicans say they can erase the deficit through spending cuts.

County officials, state employees and other groups are facing great uncertainty when it comes to planning for the shutdown. Beltrami County Administrator Tony Murphy says he doesn't know how what county services will continue if a shutdown occurs. He's worried that the county's 6,500 residents who receive state assistance will have questions for county staff. He said a lot of residents will overwhelm his staff.

"If they can't get those questions answered at the state and they're not used to taking their questions to state employees, they'll take those questions to county offices and county employees," Murphy said. "I think our biggest concern is that we don't really have answers to their questions. We don't really know what the plans for the state for the shutdown in any level of detail."

Murphy says he's planning to put more staff at the front counters and at the county phone banks with the hopes of handling questions from concerned residents. He said, however, that fewer employees will be able to process claims and other paperwork.

It isn't certain what services will continue if state government shuts down. Dayton's petition to the court will come just two days after Attorney General Lori Swanson filed a similar petition in court. The court is expected to act quickly on the requests since the services will be shuttered on July 1.

Ramsey County Chief Judge Kathleen Gearin told MPR News that she would not assign a judge to the case on Tuesday. She suggested it was unlikely she would take any action on the case until she receives Dayton's petition.

Republican leaders have scheduled a Legislative Commission on Planning and Fiscal Policy meeting to discuss Dayton's shutdown plans on Wednesday morning.

Tinucci, with Dayton's office, says she expects Dayton to meet privately with GOP legislative leaders to discuss the budget impasse. It would be the first time the two sides would meet since last Wednesday.