7/12/11 – The Wisconsin Assembly’s Democratic leader says Governor Scott Walker could go a long way toward restoring trust in state government, by rejecting new district lines favored by majority Republicans. Peter Barca wants the Republican Walker to come up with a more non-partisan approach to drawing new boundaries for the state’s congressional and legislative districts. Majority Republicans plan a public hearing on Wednesday, and a vote on the new maps a week from tomorrow. Barca says that if Walker doesn’t step in, there will be probably be a lawsuit if the G-O-P tries to ram through its version of redistricting – and federal judges will probably set the new boundaries, just like they’ve done for the last three decades. Critics say the Republicans are trying to get their maps approved before they risk losing control on the Senate in the recall elections over the next month. But Assembly Majority Leader Scott Suder says the timeline is about the same now as it was in the 1980’s. Also, G-O-P Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald of Horicon noted that a number of other states are finished with redistricting. Fitzgerald agrees there will probably be a court fight – and he’s not sure how much taxpayers will end up paying for the lawyers. The bill so far is around 300-thousand dollars.
