2.5M to be spent on partisan redistricting

[undeterred]

FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS OF THE NEW ASSEMBLY LEADERSHIP:
SOAK WISCONSIN TAXPAYERS FOR PARTISAN REDISTRICTING WORK BY A BIG MADISON LAW FIRM

There is a Far Less Expensive and Less Partisan Option Available

On Tuesday afternoon, the Assembly Organization Committee met for first time in the new 2011 legislative session.

Their first order of business? Not jobs. Not economic development. Not education or taxes.

The first order of business of the committee -- which consists of 4 Republicans and 3 Democrats and includes new G.O.P Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald (R-Horicon), Assembly Majority Leader Scott Suder (R-Abbottsford) and Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) -- was to authorize the hiring of a big Madison law firm (Michael, Best & Friederich) to work on redistricting for the Republicans at taxpayer expense.

This is the same law firm that then-Republican Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen hired ten years ago to redraw district boundaries to create fewer competitive state legislative districts (and more safe Republican seats). Jensen and then-Democratic State Senate Majority Leader Chuck Chvala (who hired a different high-priced Madison law firm to do the same thing) soaked taxpayers for more than $2.5 million in legal fees to protect and enhance their own narrow, partisan interests in the 2001 redistricting process.

Is Speaker Fitzgerald intent on doing the same? What happened to fiscal restraint and financial responsibility to the taxpayers of Wisconsin?

There is a far better, fairer, less partisan and far less expensive way to do redistricting. Since 1980, our neighbor Iowa has had redistricting done by their non-partisan Legislative Service Agency. The cost to taxpayers? Aside from the salaries paid to the state employees charged with this responsibility - almost nothing. And the results there have been 1,000 percent preferable and fairer than have the very partisan redistricting plans, produced by partisan lawyers in the big law firms who charge premium rates ($300 an hour and up) paid to them with hard-earned taxpayer dollars -- without the consent or knowledge of the citizens of Wisconsin.

Will Speaker Fitzgerald at least cap the legal fees paid to Michael, Best & Friederich? Will the hourly rates be reduced? Will there be legal representation for the Democrats? How much will that cost taxpayers? Will there be complete disclosure of the redistricting work done and the charges to Wisconsin taxpayers? Will the State Senate do the same thing? Will the new legislative leaders come to their senses and turn to a non-partisan and much less expensive entity to do this work and concentrate on jobs and the economy as they promised voters they would do? The Government Accountability Board or the Legislative Reference Bureau, with a little training from their experienced counterparts in Iowa, could do the the job. And with much greater public confidence in their work and at a fraction of the cost.

Inquiring minds want to know. Answers, please!

Jay Heck, Executive Director
Common Cause in Wisconsin
152 W. Johnson St., Suite 212
Madison, WI 53703
608/256-2686

Want Good Government?
Join Common Cause in Wisconsin!
http://www.commoncausewisconsin.org/

[goddess40]

1. And on it goes

Did the dems do any redistricting or is it only done every so many years?

[undeterred]

2. Its done every ten years after the census is taken

and whoever holds the majority in state government gets the advantage in deciding the new districts.

[dragonlady]

3. Something I heard, not sure if it's true

That Obey and Sensenbrenner got together last time and worked it out, at least for the congressional districts.

[undeterred]

4. I heard that too.

The senior representatives from the parties this time would be Sensenbrenner and Ron Kind. At least we aren't losing a House seat. But I'm sure Sensenbrenner is going to make his district safely Republican before he retires from it.

[ewagner]

5. Sensenbrenner's district

I already "democrat-proof". We've had some great candidates for Congress there and all they could get is about 35%.

I think the Governor also has some power over the final redistricting but I'm not sure. I'm on a local redistricting committee and I'm going to a seminar on redistricting on 1/24. I'll know then.

[midnight]

7. ewanger, this is very interesting info. Please keep us informed...

[midnight]

6. I like that link to the Common Cause site.... Thanks.

I read a story their about Scott Walker naming a former employee to be his chief of staff and sites his reason, because Jim Doyle did it.... I wonder how many other Jim Doyle moves Scott Walker will mimic?