State House redistricting process remains a battlefield
Times-Picayune (excerpt)

Republican House Speaker Jim Tucker's decision to hire a GOP-connected Washington, D.C., law firm to shepherd the Louisiana House redistricting plan through the U.S. Justice Department review drew fire Friday from Democratic lawmakers. State Rep. Rick Gallot, D-Ruston, chairman of the House redistricting committee, said he was not consulted about Tucker's decision to hire Holtzman Vogel to prepare the state's submission. He said the firm has a conflict of interest because it provided advice to House Republicans when the House was debating how many minority districts should be drawn. The firm has advised Republicans around the country on elections and voting rights issues. "I think it taints the process and lessens the public's confidence and certainly the members' confidence," Gallot said. Tucker said political partisanship played no role in his decision and said an outside attorney is needed because House Clerk Alfred "Butch" Speer has a conflict of interest of his own because he advised lawmakers during the special session that the federal Voting Rights Act could be interpreted to require 30 majority nonwhite districts instead of the 29 districts that were ultimately approved. Tucker said Holtzman Vogel "does have some Republican contacts, but we met them through the (National Conference of State Legislatures) and not through any kind of political venue." He said that although the firm did provide House Republicans with some advice during the redistricting process, it was informal. "There's no conflict. They weren't paid by anybody for that," Tucker said.