David Williams

After the Stumbo/Williams/Thayer/Beshear alliance went forward with plans to appeal Judge Shepherd’s decision to toss their redistricting maps, it became time to spend money on lawyers.

Secretary of State Grimes and Stumbo/Williams’ Legislative Research Commission have set aside $145,000 for the fight over the House and Senate disenfranchisement bill.

Brammer/Cheves report:

The Legislative Research Commission, which represents House Speaker Greg Stumbo and Senate President David Williams in defending the districts from a constitutional challenge, has budgeted $95,000 for Louisville attorney Sheryl Snyder, although it may end up paying less depending on how much work is necessary.

Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes and the state Board of Elections, also defendants, have budgeted $50,000 for the law firms of Tachau Meek in Louisville and Britton Osborne Johnson in Lexington. Those legal fees will be paid with public funds.

House Republicans, who brought the lawsuit, said they are privately raising funds to pay for their lawyers at Fultz Maddox Hovious & Dickens in Louisville.

“Our attorneys told us to look at a budget of $75,000,” House Republican Leader Jeff Hoover, R-Jamestown, said Monday. “We’ve been asking people to help, including friends of members who are going to be adversely affected by the changes in district lines.”

According to Stumbo/Williams’ lawyer, Shepherd’s decision — finding the bill unconstitutional — was  “an unprecedented use of the power of an injunction to resolve a political question.”

“While adherence to one person, one vote presents a justiciable controversy, the actual drawing of the lines in an apportionment plan is a quintessential political question,” Snyder wrote in the research committee’s appeal.

Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes has not yet decided how to handle the appeal, spokeswoman Lynn Zellen said.

The legislature’s filing deadline has already passed three times. If the courts toss Shepherd’s ruling and force the Stumbo/Williams disenfranchisement map into effect, it creates a situation where people are filed for office in wrong districts (or nonexistent ones).

That uncertainty, among other problems, continues to complicate the Governor’s gambling plans as elected officials wait to see who they represent and who they’re running against before taking a position on a bill which, still, doesn’t explicitly exist.

But hey, at least we’re not alone. Kentucky is one of 23 states with an active redistricting lawsuit.

Jeff Hoover, leader of the Republican Minority in the State House,  was on 970 WGTK (“Intelligent conservative talk radio”) this afternoon to talk redistricting.

Hoover was the leader of the Republican challenge to the redistricting plan. That challenge was joined by Kathy Stein and yesterday, Judge Shepherd ruled the redistricting plan unconstitutional.

That ruling is appealable. So, does Jeff Hoover think it will be?

“Yesterday I thought that would happen,” Hoover told host Joe Elliott, “Today, I’m not so sure. Some member of the majority party would just as soon run in existing districts.”

Hoover explained that an appeal would most likely come from the Legislative Research Committee which is chaired by the Speaker of the House (Democrat Greg Stumbo) and the President of the Senate (Republican David Williams).

At the same time, CN|2 caught up with Stumbo who may be licking his wounds. Stumbo is insisting he could win an appeal but seems to be indicating no appeal will come before the newest filing deadline — this Friday.

When asked if House Democrats are preparing to challenge Franklin Circuit Judge Phil Shepherd’s ruling on Tuesday, Stumbo said: “I think an appeal would be successful, let me say that, but I don’t think we could probably get some relief from the courts order before the filing deadline passes on Friday.”

So, for now House members prepare to run under the old maps.

Stumbo is saying he could win an appeal, while Hoover is saying many of Stumbo’s members would rather just put this behind them.

At the same time, if the districts are left as they have been for the past decade, some will be unconstitutionally large or small so they could be challenged on that ground.

For his part, Hoover foresees the Legislature revisiting the redistricting battle before the end of the year but probably after the November elections.

Another reason Stumbo and Beshear might not seek an appeal of Shepherd’s decision is the idea of moving forward on the Governor’s gambling bill. Reports the Herald:

Gov. Steve Beshear said Wednesday he will wait “a few more days” to unveil his long-anticipated constitutional amendment to expand gambling because of the uncertainty of legislative redistricting.

“I think we still have plenty of time to address that issue after redistricting is settled,” Beshear said to reporters after a ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda to honor Black History Month.

Beshear said last December that he will present in the 2012 General Assembly a constitutional amendment to expand gambling. Wednesday is the 24th day of the 60-day session that must end by April 15.

Damon Thayer told the Herald that he and the Governor still felt there was plenty of time to get that passed. But Hoover, who of course is in a different House and has his own agenda, indicated that Beshear’s claim of having the 23 votes needed was quite a bit off and that someone might have a problem with counting.

For now, we wait for Friday at 4PM.

***UPDATE***
WFPL:

“Our initial position will be we’ll ask the court to uphold the constitutionality and validity of House Bill 1 and lift the injunction,’” Stumbo says. “But if they don’t do that, then obviously we told our members and recommended to our members that they prepare to run in the old districts.

***UPDATE #2***

Alford/AP:

House Speaker Greg Stumbo said Shepherd’s ruling will be appealed to the Kentucky Supreme Court. If the high court overturns the ruling, it could mean yet another round of election filings.

“We believe there needs to be clarification on this issue from the highest court in Kentucky,” Stumbo said. “Everybody just wants finality. We think this is the cleanest, simplest way to bring some finality to this issue so that we can move on to other important issues.”

At today’s hearing, Judge Shepherd listened to arguments from all sides and said he’d have a ruling by mid-week and if he doesn’t have one by tomorrow afternoon’s restraining order dictated new deadline for candidate filings, he’ll extend the restraining order.

He appeared to take seriously the disenfranchisement of Fayette County voters who would have to wait six years to vote on their Senate representative, which of course is two years longer than the Constitution says we should. On top of that there’s the House Republicans who argue that Stumbo’s maps unnecessarily split counties and thus disenfranchise voters.

C-J: Judge voices concern that redistricting plan harms Fayette

H-L: Judge pledges quick decision on delay of election filing deadline over Ky. redistricting

A ruling is expected before 4PM this afternoon on whether or not to grant an injunction against the Stumbo/Williams/Beshear redistricting plan that disenfranchised voters across the state, most notably in our area, Ms. Kathy Stein, Senator of Lexington’s Fighting 13th. From the Herald:

Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd also allowed Sen. Kathy Stein, a Democrat whose Lexington district was moved to northeastern Kentucky, and several Fayette County residents to intervene as plaintiffs in the GOP lawsuit. The suit challenges the constitutionality of newly drawn legislative districts that Gov. Steve Beshear signed into law earlier this month.

Judge Shepherd indicated any injunction would be temporary with hearings taking place immediately.

As for the Fayette County residents who joined the suit with Ms. Stein:

Shepherd allowed three Lexington residents — Dr. David B. Stevens, Jack Stevenson and Marcus McGraw — and David O’Neill, who was chairman of the Fayette County Democratic Party at the time of Stein’s election, to intervene in the suit as plaintiffs.