Letter to the editor: Why didn’t Lillie, Republicans dip into party’s stash instead of public dollars?

$103,000. One-hundred and three-thousand dollars. That is how much Assistant Senate Leader Ted Lillie (who recently moved to Woodbury for the purpose of running in an open Senate seat) and his caucus are expecting Minnesota taxpayers to fork over for the Amy Koch-Michael Brodkorb sex scandal that continues to rock the Minnesota Senate.

Legal bills are mounting (to the tune of $330 per hour at a high priced law firm), and Lillie and his Republican Senate Caucus have already approved two installments of $85,000 and $18,000. DFL senators have called for a privately funded legal defense fund to spare taxpayers this financial burden, but these calls have fallen on Lillie's deaf ears. Incredibly, Assistant Leader Lillie and his Republican colleagues seem adamant that Minnesota taxpayers are somehow responsible for this bill, which may very likely grow into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Here is another number to chew on – $860,461. That is the amount of money the Minnesota Senate Republican Campaign Committee ("Senate Victory Fund") had on hand as of July 23, 2012. But rather than contribute even one dime from this stash, Lillie and his Republican Senate colleagues expect Woodbury taxpayers to pick up the tab for this completely internal GOP mess.

So if "Travelin' Ted" Lillie tells you he is "defending" Woodbury taxpayers, don't believe him for one minute. Lillie still very definitely wants your tax dollars – but not to pay for public safety or education. Lillie wants your tax dollars to pay for a Republican Senate sex scandal.

Cheryl Schneider - Woodbury

Tags: letters to the editor, opinion, elections, updates