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A divided Arizona Independent Redistricting
Commission voted Saturday evening to hire legal counsel as the commissioners
respond to Gov. Jan Brewer's demand for answers about their
conduct.
The 3-2 vote means Chairwoman Colleen Coyle
Mathis, an independent, and commissioners Jose Herrera and Linda McNulty, both
Democrats, will have attorneys representing them as they meet an 8 a.m. Monday
deadline to explain actions that Brewer says violated constitutional
requirements.
GOP commissioners Scott Freeman and Richard Stertz
voted "no," and presumably will respond to the governor without hiring legal
counsel.
Freeman said adding more attorney costs would only
compound one of the governor's complaints, in which she charged the panel is not
authorized to hire attorneys to represent individual
commissioners.
Freeman and Stertz received assurances late last
week from legislative leaders that they are not the targets of attempts to
remove the commissioners.
"We know that your responses to the governor's
letter will reflect that you have not participated in any of the disturbing and
lawless conduct that has made this commission's tenure so difficult," wrote
Senate President Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, and House Speaker Andy Tobin,
R-Paulden.
The other three commissioners are the subject of a
lawsuit filed by Attorney General Tom Horne to compel them to testify in his
investigation of possible violations of the state Open Meeting Law. Several of
the governor's questions get at the same issues Horne is pursuing; the
commissioners have said they have legislative immunity from such
inquiries.
Ray Bladine, the commission's executive director,
said Saturday's vote will allow the three to direct attorneys they hired for the
Horne probe to also represent them as they respond to
Brewer.
Commission attorney Mary O'Grady will respond on
behalf of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission as a state
institution. Commission attorney Joe Kanefield recused himself from that
response because he was Brewer's legal counsel until last spring and because he
is representing the state in a lawsuit over Arizona's Medicaid
system.
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